Forget It Jack, It's Chinatown: Betabrand, Sometimes

Fool me one time, shame on you Fool me twice, can't put the blame on you Fool me three times, fuck the peace signs Load the chopper, let it rain on you

Imagine how happy I was to get my new Dragon-Hide Hoodigan from Betabrand just in time for a few long plane trips. Then imagine how I felt to see that they'd sent production to China. Well, it's nobody's fault but mine.

Four years ago, I noted that the company was outsourcing their shoes in China. I didn't love that but I kinda-sorta understood it, because making shoes in the United States is not for the faint of heart. The idea of making a hoodie in China, however... there's no excuse for that. So I'm sending it back.

Betabrand continues to make a lot of clothing in San Francisco, like their original and very comfortable Cordarounds. It's just that you're going to have to check ahead of time, every time. And according to a few Amazon reviews, some of the Betabrand stuff that's American-made if you order it direct mysteriously becomes foreign-made when you buy it on Amazon. That doesn't surprise me, honestly.

You can still get American-made clothing, with almost no exceptions, from Gustin. If you use this link to buy something I'll get five dollars of store credit. I promise to use it on something ridiculous. You can also try the newest version of the Flint and Tinder hoodie. I have two of them and they are effectively bulletproof. Each and every one of them is American-made.

With Betabrand, however, we're gonna have to be all Ronnie Reagan with them. Trust but verify, my friends.