Wave the patriotic flag — and check the label
Canadians are gearing up for smalltown parades and epic fireworks. The usual red-and-white turnout is likely to be amped up for the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Some celebrants may be inspired to go an extra novelty-hat-wearing, flagwaving mile.
Seizing the opportunity, retailers are stocking a variety of patriotically themed clothing and accessories. Yet shockingly few of these “proudly Canadian” items are actually made in Canada.
Discount retailer Giant Tiger is one Canadian store capitalizing on the opportunity.
A range of red-and-white accessories, from folding parade chairs to insulated tote bags, and even a “Canadian flag cape,” are branded “proudly Canadian.” They are made in China.
The branding also appears on T-shirts, with a prominent maple leaf stamped inside the collar. The manufacturing details — 100 per cent cotton, made in China — appear in fine print underneath.
A spokesperson for Giant Tiger commented: “We develop and conceptualize products with our Canadian buying teams to meet the needs of our customers. We do not reference or market ourselves as a retailer that sells products solely made in Canada. We are a low-cost operator and our focus on saving Canadians money does at times require us to sell products manufactured overseas.”
Conscious consumers should not be surprised when discount merchandise is made abroad where labour is cheaper.
But discount retailers aren’t the only shops outsourcing their Canada Day pride.
Shirts and totes bearing the official Canada 150 logo are popping up all over the place, from mall displays to grocery stores. Use of the logo has been made available to anyone, free of charge, with permission from Canadian Heritage.
Joe Fresh T-shirts with the official Canada 150 logo hail from Bangladesh.
Shoppers may certainly choose to support the Bangladeshi garment industry. Oversight has improved since the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, in which 1,134 garment workers were killed. (Both Giant Tiger and the Bay joined the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, created to assess fire, structural and electrical safety at garment factories.)
Still, it’s likely not what most folks have in mind when shopping to show their Canadian pride.
A spokesperson for Loblaw, which owns Joe Fresh, commented: “We focus on providing product that is both high-quality and affordable for our customers and as a result we may choose to source outside of Canada as it is more economical. That is true in the case of our Joe Fresh Canada Day T-shirt, which was designed here but manufactured outside of Canada.”
In truth, retailers are only giving people what they want. Consumer spending drives the demand for lowpriced, low-wage imports. Happily, some stores have supplemented their internationally sourced collections with authentic Canadian merchandise.
The original Canadian store, Hudson’s Bay Company, has partnered with the Drake General Store to offer T-shirt designs by ten influential Canadians, from Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy to National Ballet artistic director Karen Kain.
“One Fif Tee” commemorative shirts are designed, sewn and printed in Canada; even the labels are homegrown.
Roots is another iconic Canadian brand. According to retail lore, founders Michael Budman and Don Green opened their first store in Toronto in 1973, after spending their formative summers at Camp Tamakwa in Algonquin Park.
A trademark beaver or maple leaf emblazoned over the wearer’s heart may be manufactured in China. But the store also launched Roots Is Canada, a line of Canadian-designed, Canadian-made clothing “inspired by a love for the country we call home.”
Retailers are treating this moment as the biggest opportunity for patriotic merchandise since the Vancouver Olympics.
If consumers want their purchases to support Canadian designers and manufacturers, they’ll have to check the labels.