Current Events Article in Business - Essay Example

Current Events Article: Olympic Uniforms: An XXL Issue in America is S in China Summary A huge uproar began when it was revealed that the uniforms for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team were made in China instead of the United States. Ralph Lauren, the official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team, made the decision to outsource production of the uniforms to China instead of in the United States. As Timothy Tsun Tin Fok says, “It’s just part of globalization. Clothes are made in China, Vietnam, all over Asia.

The limelight should be on the athletes now. This shouldn’t be hijacked by politicians” (McDonald 2012). The issue was first brought to light when an American track and field runner tweeted about the fact the America’s best are clothed in Chinese-made uniforms. After the issue about where uniforms were manufactured was raised, Ralph announced that the uniforms for the next Winter Olympics in 2014 would be manufactured in the United States. This is not the first Olympics that Ralph Lauren has designed and manufactured the U.S. uniforms for the Olympics; Ralph Lauren was onboard back in 2008 and 2010, both times of which the uniforms were also made in China.

However, there was not an outcry about the previous occasions where the uniforms have been manufactured overseas. The Democratic majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, commented that “I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again” (McDonald 2012).Response In my personal opinion, I feel that the uniforms should be manufactured in the United States. The reason is that there is so much unemployment right now so it would make sense to give those jobs to Americans because this would help boost the economy.

As the New York designer Nanette Lepore said, there are American “factories just dying for this kind of opportunity” (McDonald 2012). She goes on to state that it wouldn’t cost that much more to make the clothes in the United States. I understand why firms choose to outsource manufacturing work overseas (because the wages are cheaper), but surely on the occasion of the Olympic we should be celebrating the American team by manufacturing the clothes here in America. The problem with too many large corporations is that they try to find the cheapest deal so they can make more profit rather than taking care of the people who will ultimately buy the products that they are making.

It’s not like the Chinese Olympic team had their uniforms made overseas; the Chinese team uniforms were made by a high profile Chinese manufacturer in China. If I was an American athlete at the Olympic Games in London, would I feel proud walking into the stadium at the opening ceremony wearing something that was made in China? The short answer is that I wouldn’t because going to the Olympics is one of the proudest moments in an athlete’s career, so what better way to do so than by wearing U.S.-made clothes.

Work CitedMcDonald, Mark. “Olympic Uniforms: An XXL Issue in American is S in China.” The New York Times, 16 Jul. 2012. Web. 24 Jul. 2012. .