Why The American Shoe Disappeared And Why It's So Hard To Bring It Back

[Klaralven]

For Douglas Clark, the darkest part of working for Nike in the 1980s was watching American shoe manufacturing "evaporate" in the Northeast in a mass exodus to Asia in pursuit of cheaper labor.

"As a true Yankee — and my father was a Colonial historian — you know, it was heartbreaking," he said.

Clark would go on to a long career in footwear, at Converse, Reebok, Timberland, then his own line of shoes at New England Footwear. And there, he would devote eight years to one mission: creating a model to make shoemaking in America profitable again.

This was a tall order. At a time when President Trump speaks of rebuilding American manufacturing, footwear is a telling example of how hard it is to turn back time.

These days, 99% of shoes sold in the U.S. are imported, many of them from China, Vietnam and Indonesia. China's share has declined in recent years, but it remains a key source of America's shoes and shoe parts. That's why some U.S. footwear companies have been loud opponents of Trump's threat of more tariffs for almost everything imported from China.

"We'd love to make shoes in the United States," Steve Madden CEO Ed Rosenfeld told NPR. But "it's very hard to envision a scenario where we'd make the types of products that we make, at the prices that we make them, in the United States."

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/731268823/why-the-american-shoe-disappeared-and-why-its-so-hard-to-bring-it-back

[AllaN01Bear]

2. called , "modernize china, japan, etc. send your factory overseas .

dont have to pay american wages . can pollute all u want , no taxes . etc.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Having Been To Multiple Manufacturing Sites...

...in both China & Japan, an American owned company can't "pollute all they want".
First, Japan has rigorous environmental laws of their own, so the nationality of corporate ownership is irrelevant.
But in China, companies are held to the environmental standards of the country of ownership.
So, a US owned chemical facility is held to USEPA regs. Companies with Chinese or government ownership are far more environmentally harmful than those owned by American or European companies.
Third, at least in the US chemical industry, the multinationals are part of Responsible Care. Within that protocol, all facilities are to be held to the same environmental standards as the US site with the strictest standards. In the case of my company, that meant every site worldwide needed to be able to conform to California EPA standards.
I think it's bad enough that unbridled profit chasing has encouraged an abandonment of broader stakeholders in a corporation. Moving jobs overseas for cheaper labor is a nonstrategic decision that damages employees, communities, & connected industries. The environmental element doesn't need to be included to be angry about such moves, particularly where that environmental concern isn't on sold, fact-based ground.
The worst polluters in China are Chinese companies, by a light year.

[AllaN01Bear]

10. thanks for your info on the mfgrs in japan,

[SWMO_8541]

3. Some of the best boots are made in the USA!

Check out JK Boots, Frank’s Boots, Nicks Boots, Wesco Boots, and Whites Boots. Most are made right in Spokane,WA.
I’ve got JKs, Whites, and Wescos, all made to order, and they are the most comfortable footwear that I’ve ever had on my feet!
I love the story behind the JK boots operation.

[waddirum]

15. Don't forget Redwing, Chippewa, Thorogood

and Wolverine.

[Klaralven]

16. Red Wing manufactures some of its footwear in the US

But I thought Wolverine Worldwide manufactured almost everything in the Far East?

According to the company's 2018 annual report, "substantially all of the units sourced by the Company are procured from numerous third-party manufacturers in the Asia Pacific region. The Company maintains offices in the Asia Pacific region to develop and facilitate sourcing strategies."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine_World_Wide

[poli-junkie]

4. In the'90's I would buy the bulk of my family's shoes

at Mervyn’s (affordable west coast dept store). Their shoes were primarily made in Brazil which were made well & used all leather & were priced quite reasonably.

Very rarely would you find shoes today from Brazil, let alone the US. When you walk into Macy’s today, all you see are stacks and stacks of overpriced, plastic, and poorly made shoes.

I would love to buy shoes made here, made well and fairly priced.

[Tomconroy]

5. There are two manufacturers of American men's dress

Shoes left: Allen Edmonds and Alden. AE is expensive. Alden is in the stratosphere.

[maxsolomon]

8. I have pairs of both.

Since I wear 10 EEEs, I don't have a lot of options for shoes, and AEs, particularly on sale, are reasonable when you consider the quality and the ability to re-sole & recondition (i've done both). I've had a pair of AE wing tips that probably cost $250 for 10+ years.

I have 1 pair of Alden boots, which were an xmas gift.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

9. I have two pairs of AEs

Picked them up at their tent sale in Port Washington, got them at about 50% off. Have had them for decades. One pair has been recrafted. Quality shoes.

[Paladin]

13. Allen Edmonds shoes were all I wore at work, for years.

I have several pair in a closet, now that I'm retired. Great shoes.

[Midnight Writer]

7. My small town had 4 shoe factories and 3 clothing factories in the 70s.

Lots of local jobs, all gone now.

[Deep State Witch]

11. SAS Shoes are made in Texas

If you count Texas as being part of the US.

https://www.sasshoes.com/history/history-heritage.html

[SheLiberal]

12. Great Shoes

SAS shoes are very well made, and they do cost more than some other shoes but they last for years.

[jalan48]

14. When Reagan told us lower taxes would help the job creators create more jobs we had no idea he

meant jobs in other countries.

[FakeNoose]

17. The owners get all the profits - that is all

The company owners (and that includes stockholders) don't care who makes the shoes, or who loses their jobs. All they want is more profits, and lower production costs. If they can cheat Uncle Sam out of taxes as well, it's even better.

The thing to realize is that Americans still pay higher prices for everything, even though the production costs are far lower on the foreign-made products.

And let's all thank General Electric for starting this trend 50 years ago. GE shut down their lightbulb factories around 1973/4 in upstate New York and laid everybody off. They built factories in Mexico (and elsewhere) and made their $1.00 lightbulbs for less than $.05 each. The rest is history.