U.S. FACTORY DECLINE

It’s harder to find home-grown goods since U.S. manufacturing jobs began disappearing in the 1990s. Apparel jobs Jan. 1990 Jan. 2017 Textile mill jobs Jan. 1990 Jan. 2017

It “was a difficult decision to move away,” said Levi Strauss spokeswoman Andrea Hicklin. But given the required handiwork, it generally costs at least twice as much to produce a pair of jeans in the USA. “To move manufacturing back to the U.S., there would need to be a lot of technological breakthroughs.”

L.L. Bean has chosen to continue making its signature “Bean Boot” within its own manufacturing division in Maine. “It’s the iconic product that we have made a commitment to always make here,” said company spokeswoman Carolyn Beem.

But such a pledge did not make financial sense for its various other products.

“It’s an easy thing to say ‘make things domestically,’ but the infrastructure is not there,” Beem said. “If there’s going to be a move to making more, in a big way, in the USA, it’s going to take time.”

Brad Schweig, whose family has owned Sunnyland Furniture, an outdoor furniture business in Dallas, for 47 years, said his top sellers are imported brands. U.S.made items tend to linger.

“I have a feeling price is a big portion of that,” Schweig said. “People are all about ‘Made in the USA’ until it involves U.S. dollars, and then it’s ‘Do we really care?’ ”