US luxury chain Ralph Lauren has insisted that its new line of gear for Team USA for the 2014 Winter Olympics would be made 'right at home' in United States, and not by low-wage laborers in China.
The famed fashion house, which unveiled its line of Winter Games gear that American athletes will be wearing in Sochi, Russia in February 2014, had assembled uniforms in China for Team USA during the 2012 Summer Games in London.
According to the New York Post, however, following national outrage over the Chinese-made clothes, Ralph Lauren made sure this time that the kit would be made in US on their own wool and cotton from ranchers in the rural West and yarn spinners from Pennsylvania.
The company stated that they have worked very hard to go across America to find the best partners to help them produce the Olympic uniforms at the highest quality for the best athletes in the world, with the report adding that 40 American vendors were contracted for the project.
The move earned praised from the American athletes, with gold-medal figure skater Evan Lysacek saying that they are happy that their clothes are being made by American hands given that they represent the United States of America, adding that the more people who are tied into the Olympic story, the closer to home each story hits.
The official USA uniforms include a navy-colored pea-coat with a red stripe and the report added that the athletes would also wear a ski sweater with a reindeer motif and a hand-sewn American flag, and a tasseled chunky-knit hat.