Late last summer I ordered two pairs of chino trousers from L.L. Bean and a couple polo shirts, which arrived a day or two later. I clothed my upper and lower halves with the new merchandise, and both pieces fit my dreadful flesh-case beautifully.

Where Land's End trousers seem to slip off the spare tire of my middle and threaten to drop down around my ankles just when I'm carrying a heavy sack of groceries in one hand and a gallon of Stoli in the other, these marvels from L.L. Bean look and feel custom tailored. I was thrilled.

When it came time to wash them, I looked at the label to see what the settings should be and discovered the polo shirts were made in Thailand. On the chino trousers label, a line of copy made my blood run cold.

"Made in China."

The Chinese government is brutal, repressive and vicious. In China, a nation of polluters, a new coal-fired plant comes online every 10 days. The brown cloud over Beijing is disgusting. The Chinese are also state-sanctioned killers of girl babies. In addition, they kill other babies (poisoned milk), American children (lead paint in toys), beloved dogs (poisoned pet food) and Tibetan monks, as well as being jailers of dissidents and the press. China's blatant counterfeiting of luxury and everyday products—together with massive theft of intellectual property—is responsible for billions of dollars in losses the world over.

I resent L.L. Bean making me an unwitting accomplice to criminal behavior.

The Besmirching of an American Icon
Old L.L. Bean was a gent as well as a very savvy inventor and marketer. "I never consider a sale complete," Bean once said, "until the merchandise is worn out and the customer is still satisfied." There's a guarantee for you! From Bean's AP obituary of Feb. 7, 1967:

His business was built on practicality, quality and honesty. Almost every complaint on a product was satisfied, although the merchant, whose normal voice was a reverberating shout, was not known for a casual attitude toward money.

He manufactured many of his products in a rambling factory next to his shop over the post office in Freeport [Maine]. The store was open 24 hours a day simply because a fisherman might need a license or a packet of flies at 4 A.M.

So when I discovered the Bean chinos I bought were from China, I felt betrayed and personally violated.

How did I miss this?

The Weasel Word: 'Imported'
I went online to find my chinos on the L.L. Bean Web site. Here's the copy:

About This Item
For years, our customers have complimented the superior comfort and workmanship of our Chinos. The secret to their popularity is in the soft yet sturdy cotton fabric and the comfortable fit. Bonded to the fabric is a durable stain- and wrinkle-resistant Nano-Care® by Nano-Tex® treatment that ensures creases stay in, but stains and wrinkles stay out.
The sturdy no-roll waistband is one of the most comfortable you'll find, and the deep, roomy pockets have coin catches to keep your change secure. Rugged buttons and sturdy zipper will last for years. And we've included a center-back belt loop to keep your belt from riding up - a feature that many of our competitors do without.

Classic Fit has a trim cut with traditional straight legs. Plain front. 8.6 oz. fabric. Fits belts up to 1-1/2 "W. Imported. Machine wash and dry.

Note the buried fifth word from the end: "Imported."

Not "Made in China" or "Imported from China." Just "Imported."

I then went to the four catalogs—those "Sponsored Links" featured under "IN THE NEWS"—and found they all described their merchandise one of two ways:

• Imported
• Made in USA or Made in America.

I then surfed a number of catalog Web sites, and the results were the same—"imported" was the operative word.

I also entered "Made in USA" and/or "American Made" on catalog site searches. Some listed this merchandise; others drew a blank. The sleaziest cataloger was Coldwater Creek, which listed dozens of SKUs "Made in America." Then you come to the weasel-wording:

Paisley tapestry cardigan with bejeweled French knot closure and lightly padded shoulders. Matching tank. Both galaxied with sparkle throughout. Polyester, acetate and spandex knit. Hand wash. USA/imported. [H50415].

USA/imported?

Hey, guys, you can't have it both ways.

It turns out the labels on actual products or packaging must reveal country of origin, so retail customers can make an informed decision. Distance merchants are off the hook.

This is wrong.

The Web Site I Propose
With 10.1 million Americans out of work—and unemployment at 6.5% and on the rise—I'm sure some of us would pay a little more to "buy American" and put our fellow citizens to work so they can pay taxes and feed the economy rather than collect unemployment payments (while they last), lose their homes and join the ranks of the homeless.

Others of us have foreign policy concerns, such as my sinophobia. Filipino residents might like to help the economy of the land of their heritage. Mexicans might like to buy items made south of the border, Thais from Thailand, Indians from India, etc.

As a result, I believe all catalogers should aid the decision-making process by listing the country of origin of every SKU in their catalogs or Web sites. Accordingly, I've bought one-year ownership of the following URLs from Network Solutions:

www.SKUorigin.com; www.MerchandiseOrigin.com; www.ItemOrign.com

How the Site Would Work

• All catalogers that are proud of their companies—and not ashamed to reveal where they get their merchandise—would be invited to participate.
• The only ground rule: Every SKU in every catalog must list the country of origin.
• Catalogs would be listed on the Web site alphabetically and by Category
• Catalogs that offer American-made merchandise exclusively would have an additional section of their own.
• Catalogs offering merchandise from one country would appear in their own country listings (Peruvian Connection, Thomas Pink, Hermès, Ferragamo, etc.).
• Each category of merchandise (e.g., women's sweaters, men's casual trousers) would have its own section with hyperlinks to the original catalog.
• Each country of origin would have its own listing of merchandise by category with hyperlinks to the original catalog.
• Cost to the cataloger to be determined—either:
  • a yearly flat fee
    and/or
  • a small fee per SKU
    and/or
  • a small percentage of each sale generated through the Web site.
    and
  • paid advertising

Benefits of this Web site:

• A service to concerned consumers in terms of product origin
• Is an e-department store, giving the customer many choices at one venue
• Helps the crippled and disfigured U.S. economy by making it easy to buy American
• Offers merchants a new venue for their catalogs
• Will be profitable
  • for the participating catalogers
  • for the creators and managers of the Web site

Anybody out there interested in taking this on? 

 

P.S. Dinner with Russell Perkins, proprietor of the InfoCommerce Group, added an entirely new dimension to this story—how to research "imported" merchandise.

"All foreign merchandise has an RN number on the label," Perkins told me. "You'll find out a lot of stuff about a particular item.

I checked the reverse on the label of my L.L. Bean chino trousers and found "RN 71341."

I googled RN 71341 and discovered Bean to be mixed up in a human rights brouhaha over the possibility that these trousers were actually made in Jordan at a factory alleged to be involved in "human trafficking and involuntary servitude." The allegations include: "confiscation of passports, illegal work hours, illegal wage rates, nonpayment of wages, and slave labor conditions as well as other equally unacceptable conditions."

The RN number was nowhere in the Bean catalog—just on the label in the actual trousers.

If this Web site I'm proposing were to go live, I think the RN numbers should be there along with the country of origin listings on each SKU.

Would catalogs that offer imports be willing to list the RN numbers of every SKU? I doubt it. That means only all-American catalogs would be partners in this venture.

Any system that aids Americans in shopping American is a good thing.

Even if all the allegations are false, I now believe that dealing with L.L. Bean is un-American because it hid from me the fact that these chinos were either manufactured in a rogue nation or in a rogue factory.

See the hyperlink below for correspondence regarding the L.L. Bean allegations.