Ask retailers to carry Made in the USA Apparel

There is a lot of nonsense going around that Buying American will hurt our economy.

“Not Just a T-Shirt”

Myth:

Apparel – people spend approximately $631 per year on clothing

Fact:

Since credit card receipts are not analyzed to determine what percentage of purchases is for apparel, we can safely assume that number is much higher for those who do have revolving non-secured debt. And, children’s clothing is approximately $600 per year as well which is purchased by the parents, or family members.

So, let’s settle on $600 per year, or $50 per month. One of those purchases is probably a T-shirt made in China, or Vietnam, or some other non-USA place.

Out of 31,200,000 Americans, what if 10% of us bought a Made in the USA T-shirt for $15?

31,200,000 x $15 = gross $468,000,000

Yardage of material per shirt = .75

Cost of Material = $5 per yard

Cost of Materials to make a shirt = $4.75 ($3.75 + notions & printing $1)

$15 - $4.75 = $10.25 left over to make jobs

31,200,000 x $10.25 = $319,800,000

$319,800,000 divided by $12.50 hour (decent wage to get people above the poverty level) = 25,584,000 hours of work

25,584,000 hours of work divided by a 40 hour work week = 639,600 weeks

643,700 weeks of work divided by a year (52 weeks) = 12,300 full time jobs for a year

Let me say that again:

10% of Americans buying
1 Made in the USA T-shirt = 12,300 full time jobs for a year