Lawmakers furious over China-made Olympic uniform

This product image released by Ralph Lauren shows U.S. Olympic athletes, from left, swimmer Ryan Lochte, decathlete Bryan Clay, rower Giuseppe Lanzone and soccer player Heather Mitts modeling the the official Team USA Opening Ceremony Parade Uniform. As an official outfitter of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, Ralph Lauren has designed Team USAâ??s Official Opening and Closing Ceremony Parade Uniforms as well as a unique collection of village wear apparel and accessories which embodies the spirit of American athleticism and sportsmanship. / AP Photo/Ralph Lauren

(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON - When U.S. Olympic athletes arrive at the opening ceremony for the London Games later this month, they'll be decked out in uniforms of American red, white and blue that were designed by Ralph Lauren - and made in China.

That news has members of Congress fuming. Republicans and Democrats railed Thursday about the U.S. Olympic Committee's decision to dress the U.S. team in Chinese manufactured berets, blazers and pants while the American textile industry struggles economically with many U.S. workers desperate for jobs.

Pictures: Ralph Lauren's Olympic opening ceremony uniforms

"I am so upset. I think the Olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves. I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference on taxes.

"If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says USA on it, painted by hand, then that's what they should wear," he said, referring to an athletic jersey.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference that she's proud of the nation's Olympic athletes, but "they should be wearing uniforms that are made in America."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said simply of the USOC, "You'd think they'd know better."

In a tweet, U.S. track and field Olympian Nick Symmonds, who will compete in the 800-meter run at the London Games, wrote:

Our Ralph Lauren outfits for the Olympic opening ceremonies were made in China. So, um, thanks China. ?? #patriotism news10.net/sports/article...

-- NickSymmonds (@NickSymmonds) July 12, 2012

In a statement, the U.S. Olympic Committee defended the choice of designer Ralph Lauren for the clothing.

"Unlike most Olympic teams around the world, the U.S. Olympic Team is privately funded and we're grateful for the support of our sponsors," USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said in a statement. "We're proud of our partnership with Ralph Lauren, an iconic American company, and excited to watch America's finest athletes compete at the upcoming Games in London."

Ralph Lauren also is dressing the Olympic and Paralympic teams for the closing ceremony and providing casual clothes to be worn around the Olympic Village. Nike has made many of the competition uniforms for the U.S. and outfits for the medal stand.

On Twitter, Sandusky called the outrage over the made-in-China uniforms nonsense. The designer, Sandusky wrote, "financially supports our team. An American company that supports American athletes."

Ralph Lauren's company declined to comment on the criticism.

In fact, this is not the first time that Ralph Lauren has designed the Olympic uniforms. Yet that did little to quell the anger on Capitol Hill.

"It is not just a label, it's an economic solution," said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y. "Today there are 600,000 vacant manufacturing jobs in this country and the Olympic committee is outsourcing the manufacturing of uniforms to China? That is not just outrageous, it's just plain dumb. It is self-defeating."

Israel urged the USOC to reverse the decision and ensure U.S. athletes wear uniforms that are made in America.

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., separately sent letters to Lawrence Probst III, chairman of the USOC, complaining about the made-in-China uniforms. Brown suggested that the USOC find a manufacturer with a facility in the United States, naming the Hugo Boss plant in Cleveland as an option.

"There is no compelling reason why all of the uniforms cannot be made here on U.S. soil at the same price, at better quality," Gillibrand wrote along with Israel.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., said that while millions of Americans are unemployed, "there is no reason why U.S. Olympic uniforms are not being manufactured in the U.S. This action on the part of the U.S. Olympic Committee is symbolic of a disastrous trade policy which has cost us millions of decent-paying jobs and must be changed."

This is hardly the first time patriotism has been discussed when it comes to Olympic clothing. The must-have souvenir of the 2002 Salt Lake Games was a fleece beret, something that athletes wore in the opening ceremony and prompted countless people to spend hours on lines waiting to purchase one during those Olympics.

Those berets were made by Roots, a Canadian company that was the official U.S. team outfitter for that opening ceremony.

In the last four years, the USOC has faced criticism for some of its sponsorship deals as it has scrambled to deal with the economic downturn.

When General Motors left as a sponsor, the USOC signed a $24 million deal with German automaker BMW that raised eyebrows. At the time, the USOC highlighted the carmaker's 42-year history of selling cars in the United States and the fact that BMW has 7,000 American employees.

The USOC and the International Olympic Committee also were criticized for sticking with BP as a sponsor after the deadly oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.

ABC World News reported Wednesday night that the uniforms were made in China.

4 Photos

Ralph Lauren's U.S. Olympic opening ceremony uniforms

[TStewartIII3]

NewsBusters: CBS Hints That Romney Is To Blame For 2002 US Olympic Uniform Outsourcing
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2012/07/17/cbs-hints-romney-blame-2002-us-olympic-uniform-outsourcing

[thomasmc1957]

Congress doesn't pay for those uniforms, so it's NONE OF THEIR DAMNED BUSINESS!

[Chrisbr1111]

The only thing Ralph Lauren has in America is an office where they collect the cash.

[babsukatell]

I've had a similar complaint for many years! Sixteen years ago, I visited New York, New York. Many of the items for sale in the Statue Of Liberty gift shop were not made in the USA! Two summers ago my family and I visited Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore. I checked out the items in the gift shops there as well, and the same thing! I saw that most of the items were NOT made in the USA. So if the members of congress want to remedy this type of situation where it is likely that government funds are used, how about START THERE!!! These parks are visited more than once every four years, so it would make a bigger impact that Olympic clothing.

[jcomment]

I obviously would prefer that the uniforms were made in the USA since it helps the economy, but the team is PRIVATELY funded. Until my tax dollars are used to pay for the team, I have no right to object to what they do unless they are embarrassing the USA in some way. After all, they do have USA on the uniform (as small as the logo may be) so their actions are a reflection of all of us. However, in my view, "made in China" by itself doesn't embarrass anybody. Rather, it is representative of a pathetic state of events in our country, and changing it to "made in USA" for a few hundred uniforms isn't going to change that or help much. What will change things? Congress getting off its butt and not wasting its time grandstanding in an election season over relatively trivial issues. Don't like "Made in China"? Change the trade laws, economic policies, et cetera. But don't tell private companies how to spend VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS to our team. And I am sure all of the clothes worn by those in Congress say "Made in USA", lol. I wouldn't even be surprised if the flag over the Capitol building said "Made in China". Hypocrites!!!

[yarnplay]

If they had actually designed something the uniforms may have been interesting. They took stock items, stuck the poser pony logo on the pocket, made the items in red white and blue and called it a day. Then they quadruple the price, and probably hope that we would buy the "authentic Olympic" stuff in the US in department stores. Let's not buy them. It's the USA, not poser pony land that is at the Olypmics. Lauren has used the image of the US flag in dozens of other items, just not the Chinese made Olympic uniforms. Best of luck to the team, no matter what they wear.

[sickofbull]

Sorry, but this is a huge slap in the face of unemployed folks in this industry. Hell with free trade! Free trade is how we got ourselves into this economic mess. I do not buy the excuses for this. Appalling, inexcusable, thoughtless, idiotic.....you get me.

[Childserved]

AMEN!!!

[TonyP44]

This politician accusing the Olympic attires made in China is biased and stupid. It is the same stupidity that drives our country to the wrong direction. He is brain dead and is spreading hatred.

Is it better to buy them from India which is many times more corrupt than China? Unless you live in fantasy, you should know $20 wage will never compete with $2. So, you do not buy it from the good old USA. Dumb nationalism is just dumb.



They will not be chemicals to make the athletics sick from the attire. You buy the best at the least cost and it is free trade.


I excuse him due to his old age and in his days when he can still see, he saw all Chinese had pigtails and working in the railroad (however, you will not see any Chinese laborer in the celebration pictures)... He has to bring his bias to his grave. RIP.