I’m not some kind of genius, but as an American “shopper” I certainly qualify as an expert. We American girls are very clear on this shopping issue, especially when it comes to saving money on our favorite brands. There are certain brands that are must-haves for most of us, and for me, blue jeans and leather are two things I have favorite brands for. Aren’t most of us? Some will say they will only wear Wrangler jeans, others prefer Levis. This has been an old debate, like Coke and Pepsi.
Turns out my two favorite leather and jeans brands have always been Coach Leather Ware and Levis jeans. I have been buying these products my whole life. When it comes to leather, there are many options. Some will only buy Wilson leathers, others insist on Harley Davidson Leather, the list goes on. All of these well-known brands that I have mentioned, originated in the United States and were manufactured in the United States for decades.
Over the years I began to notice serious changes in my favorite brands, and it did not take me long to understand that it was because these products were now being outsourced to other countries, mainly China. I started to notice that the material was thinner and not the same on our Levis. Coach Glove Tanned Leather, was also one of my favorites, and I started to notice that the leather was thinner and not as good, and instead of using genuine brass or nickel hardware, they started using cheap painted metal alloys and plastics. What happened to our favorite brands?
Not only were they no longer produced here in the US, but they started making fake fakes of these brands! So it got to where, just because it was branded Levis or Coach, it didn’t necessarily mean it was one of their products! Buying these brands became a nightmare! Literally a nightmare! I had to start studying every detail, just to be sure I was getting the genuine product or not! Suddenly shopping became very complicated.
This all started when we made the mistake of producing our famous products in other countries. They stole our precious secret recipes for success and found ways to make them cheaper and faster, which ended up in the counterfeit market. Literally stealing our brands! For buyers like me, this was heartbreaking. How much more American can you get than LEVIS jeans? Our jeans wore them for crying out loud! And now countries like China were duplicating and ruining them? How sad is that? And why did we let this happen?
Well, folks, it all comes back to our government. They overregulated and taxed our American businesses so much that they had to start producing in other countries and now we are all suffering from the results. I shouldn’t have to study a pair of jeans for two hours, just to make sure they’re the brand I want! I shouldn’t have to become a bag expert, just to make sure the Coach bag I’m ordering is genuine or not. I should be able to shop for the sale, without having to worry about getting scammed! But sadly, this is the world we live in now, and we can thank our government for this!
I’m sure most of you know that almost everything is outsourced to China now, and no matter what your favorite brand is, you have most likely noticed the difference in quality, compared to what it was before. Unless you weren’t present before it happened, then you really can’t miss what you never had. I almost feel sorry for younger folks who never got to experience the same quality as me, when our products were still made in the USA, even something as simple as a pair of Levis jeans. I wonder how many of you knew that the Levis are actually faked now. YES, they are faking Levis jeans! Hard to believe, but true nonetheless.
This really pisses me off! Where do the Chinese come from by stealing names, logos and ideas of our companies without their permission? Wasn’t it enough that we gave them all of our jobs? Did they really have to steal all of our ideas and business names? Normally I don’t like to get political, but it seems to me that we finally have leaders in this country who want to change this, and for some reason, without my knowing it, there are ‘some’ who do not want our businesses. back? Do you think this should continue? I should have them try to find me a real Coach bag at some point! Or a pair of Levis! Maybe they don’t have to shop for the sales and can pay full price directly from the designers themselves? Good luck to them! But what about the rest of us?
Isn’t it something that the actions of these politicians can affect us consumers? Wouldn’t it be great if your actions could affect us in a positive way rather than so negatively? Makes you wonder whose side they’re on, because it sure doesn’t seem like they’ve ever been on our side. It is depressing to know that our own government cares more about making other countries happy than its own people. All this from an American shopper! I feel like being attacked, and you know what? I am! I am being targeted by criminal counterfeiters and I find myself avoiding them in almost every corner I hit, especially on the internet. It’s not only sad, but creepy! How could our country allow this to happen to us girls? It used to be a lot of fun shopping for deals on my favorite brands. Now it’s nothing but a nightmare! I really hope our leaders do something and get back to normal.
Wouldn’t it be great to see MADE in the USA again on all of our labels? I haven’t seen that in so long, I almost forgot what it looks like! This has totally gotten out of hand. We’d better get a handle on it, if it’s not too late yet.
As you can see? Outsourcing to countries like China was a bad idea from the start! Why don’t we keep our business and products here and make other countries pay double if they want them? Instead of being charged double for the lower quality of our own brands? What’s wrong with this picture, besides everything? I want my Levis back! Do you know that I am now looking for used Levis ‘Made in the USA’? Yes, even used, the old Made in USA Levis were much better, more comfortable and not to mention the fit. Now a 32 X 34, it’s actually a 28 X 30! It’s ridiculous! And you know what is even worse? Counterfeiters have realized that there is now a market for US Levis, and they are even counterfeiting them! Putting US labels on them! It’s just a fierce endless battle! Why the heck should it be so hard to get a simple pair of Levis jeans? I guess I already answered that, because we were dumb enough to give away secret old family recipes! We gave them all to other countries and now look what happened! A girl can’t even get a pair of jeans!
Hopefully, we can keep making progress and get our businesses and products back in the US Until then? It is what it is, pitiful! Talk about regrets! We should have taken notes from our parents’ playbook and not revealed our old secret family recipes! How come our parents were always right? What’s up with that?
