American Materials?

[DuctTapeMessiah]

I was just curious how much of the fabrics sold by this organization are made from materials sourced in the USA?


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[Billy Goat]

I bet not many... there are very few textile mills in the US left, and as such, less material is made here. For the tech fabrics we so adore, a lot of the treatments and finishes are probably not so healthy for people and/or the environment while applying them. China and India both have more lax safety and environmental regulations that would make it cheaper to manufacture there. I certainly could be wrong, as I am mostly speculating.

Cheers,
The Goat

[GreatBigDave]

OOPS! vendor subforum - inappropriate comment. My Bad.

[ripstopbytheroll]

I bet not many... there are very few textile mills in the US left, and as such, less material is made here. For the tech fabrics we so adore, a lot of the treatments and finishes are probably not so healthy for people and/or the environment while applying them. China and India both have more lax safety and environmental regulations that would make it cheaper to manufacture there. I certainly could be wrong, as I am mostly speculating.

Cheers,
The Goat

I was just curious how much of the fabrics sold by this organization are made from materials sourced in the USA?


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So almost all of our woven fabrics are made overseas. The main reason for this is that the mills here in the states just aren't setup to do most of the specialty fabrics we produce. You need specialized equipment to do certain weaves, finer deniers, and finishing techniques. The overseas mills have that equipment and the experience needed to produce our fabrics with high quality and high volume. For example, 30D is the lightest commercially available woven fabric being made in the US right now. If you want anything lighter, you have to go overseas.

Then of course there's the price. We could certainly make things like 70D hammock fabric or some pack fabrics here in the states, but the same fabric made here will always cost more. We'd also have to tie up a lot more money in inventory as the MOQs are much higher here in the states. If you're looking to make something custom, you could be talking 100,000 yds minimum. That's just for one fabric.

That being said, our non-woven fabrics like Dyneema Composite are all made here in the US. DSM is even opening a brand new production line for DCF in my hometown of Greenville, NC later this year. I'm going down to tour the facility once it's ready.

Some of the laminates like X-PAC are also made in USA. Select components like the face fabric may be imported (often for reasons I mentioned above), but the films and all the man hours that go into creating the laminate are done right here.

Hope that helps! With all that being said, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to creating a made in USA fabric line. We would have to start slow with only a few fabrics and colors, but it could be done...

P.S. - We do have one hammock specific fabric 100% made in the USA. It's a 70D, 1.9 oz Ripstop Nylon 6.6. This was the first custom dye lot of fabric I ever made way back when my brother and I were making hammocks out of my parents bonus room. It's also part of the reason I fell in love with materials to begin with and started RBTR, but that's another story . We still have some of it if you're interested. It's an awesome fabric.

[DuctTapeMessiah]

Thanks for following up with my query. I would love to buy some fabric that is 100% made in America. The only thing I've found on your website is at: https://ripstopbytheroll.com/product...nt=11171424513 -- It looks like the OD Brown is currently out of stock. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] with a direct link to purchase. Thanks again.

[ripstopbytheroll]

Thanks for following up with my query. I would love to buy some fabric that is 100% made in America. The only thing I've found on your website is at: https://ripstopbytheroll.com/product...nt=11171424513 -- It looks like the OD Brown is currently out of stock. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] with a direct link to purchase. Thanks again.

That's the one. We have more of it squirreled away. We'll reach out and get you taken care of. Thanks!

[Tacblades]

Very interesting
Its such a shame in the US and here in the UK the fabric manufacturers have all but disappeared. We have a few cotton canvas and waxed canvas manufacturers left.

I could see you having a single loom for a 1.6d fabric running and selling the fabric to other manufacturers maybe but the up front and running costs are crazy high



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[BikerDad]

Very interesting
Its such a shame in the US and here in the UK the fabric manufacturers have all but disappeared. We have a few cotton canvas and waxed canvas manufacturers left.

I could see you having a single loom for a 1.6d fabric running and selling the fabric to other manufacturers maybe but the up front and running costs are crazy high

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Part of the reason they've all but disappeared is that their customer base has likewise all but disappeared. Not much in the way of textile items are made in either country. It simply makes sense to have the textiles produced closer to the buyers. The textile industries of Japan and Korea are probably the least affected among First World countries, and that's primarily because they are closer to the buyers. Then, add in the "jump start" effect, which is basically shiny new, latest and greatest tooling being installed in low cost areas vs older, wearing/worn out tooling being run in high cost areas.

Most of the remaining textile industries in both the US and UK exist because they are servicing buyers who prefer/require Made In Domestica.

[Just Bill]

Part of the reason they've all but disappeared is that their customer base has likewise all but disappeared. Not much in the way of textile items are made in either country. It simply makes sense to have the textiles produced closer to the buyers. The textile industries of Japan and Korea are probably the least affected among First World countries, and that's primarily because they are closer to the buyers. Then, add in the "jump start" effect, which is basically shiny new, latest and greatest tooling being installed in low cost areas vs older, wearing/worn out tooling being run in high cost areas.

Most of the remaining textile industries in both the US and UK exist because they are servicing buyers who prefer/require Made In Domestica.

Agree... my experience with both the fabric and the sewing shops left in the US...
If it isn't under a government contract for domestic production it isn't available. Mil-spec webbings, fabrics, etc- exist. But you won't find .7d nylon taffeta being made.

One of the last large sewing contractors in Chicago subsists primarily on military and government uniforms.
Sewing for the auto industry is still pretty common but for the most part if something is left... it's hyper specialized. There are domestic pack makers or other goods makers but they aren't so much a sewing shop as a manufacturer.
Much like all the ENO clones on Amazon... you pick something from their catalog of patterns and they will brand it... but you're not really going in there with your own design and hiring them to sew for you.
You can possibly source materials but they really don't want to work outside what they do because the margins are way too tight.

[LuvmyBonnet]

One of the last large sewing contractors in Chicago subsists primarily on military and government uniforms.

Are you talking about Rubin Manufacturing?