American manufacturing is something we care about here at Bespoke. In our industry, or any other for that matter, it's hard to find products that are still made here. More and more companies are choosing to outsource manufacturing because of the low cost of labor. There are many hidden costs however, we'll refer to this as "True Cost" and we'll talk more about that later. We live in a global economy and as time goes on, tariffs will change, labor in developing countries will change as will demand and trade agreements and so on. All that being what it is, we will always focus on supporting American manufacturing as part of our business model.
We are a high end shop. That makes it easier for us to offer more domestically made products. It just happens that the American made products in the cycling industry are mostly high end products. So in that sense, we have it easy. For us, it's easy to see and understand why a Serotta, for example, is a higher quality product that "brand T or Brand S". Tighter manufacturing tolerances, tighter quality control, better materials and a quality focused methodology all lead to higher quality products. It's simple. Personally speaking, I like knowing that I can shake the hand of the person who built my bike. I like knowing that he or she cares about my experience on my bike and my safety. At 50mph, I know I am on a machine built by a master, I breath easier. It's harder to tell with some products but in most cases, we're making the best right here at home. If we're looking at two products that appear identical in quality and price, we choose the domestically made one, it's a better practice.
One reason it's a better practice is that by purchasing locally and domestically, we're supporting ourselves and our community. The money stays here in your community and is used to pay for our infrastructure, firefighters, police, parks, libraries, education and the list goes on, not to mention it pays our wages and our neighbors wages. You are supporting safe working conditions, fair wages, ecological and social responsibility and you're very likely supporting a group of like minded, passionate people...like us. Buy local and better yet, buy local, American made products. I'm fairly certain that foreign manufacturing companies like Jing-Cycling Co LTD (google it) isn't helping after school programs in your community.
We are not simple minded though. We know very well that in our industry, we can't have it all done here. Our country simply doesn't make bicycle drivetrains. Sram may be an American company but they don't make a single product here that I'm aware of. Shimano produces products in Japan, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and probably several other countries. Campagnolo now owns a factory in eastern Europe along with their Italian factory in Italy but at least they own both factories. That's just the way it is. Things aren't likely to change too much in the immediate future either, although there are some companies moving some production back here. Velocity, a rim manufacturing company, just opened a new factory in Michigan to make rims. As trade agreements change and those "developing countries" change, labor costs will go up and the cost of getting something made in China or elsewhere will inevitably go up. But right now, It's almost all made somewhere else.
Here is a list of the brands we carry that make all or at least most of their products in the US and Canada.
US Companies:
Serotta Bicycles
Seven Cycles
Parlee Cycles
Inglis Cycles
Thomson Components
Enve Composites
Chris King
Esoles
White Industries
King Cage
Paul's Components
Phil Wood
Oakley
Jeff Hantman Custom Wood Fenders
Mad Alchemy
K-Edge
Swiftwick
Speedplay
Canada:
Guru Bikes
Louis Garneau
There are more as well. There will also be some additions to this list in the near future. There are also a number of European companies we work with who are equally passionate about keeping their manufacturing at home and making sure they put out nothing but the highest quality products, Campagnolo, Hope, Lupine, and Assos are but a few.
Look for a follow up to this post where I'll talk more about "True Cost" as well as the different labeling requirements from country to country when it comes to the "made in _____" label. You would be very surprised how different the laws are between Italy and the US for example. More to come.
Congrats!
ReplyDelete