" THE RAPLH LAUREN DILEMMA "
Recent news about the american icon clothing designer Ralph Lauren and the critisim over the outfits selected for the U.S. Olympic teams participants that will be wearing his clothing line during the opening and closing ceremony of the summer London olympic games in August. In a recent article writen by NJ.com focuses more at the matter at hand which has China in the center of the controversy.
At first glance, the thing you’ll notice about the U.S. Olympic team’s new uniforms is the beret. Do even the French wear berets anymore? But dig a little deeper and the insults to the American spirit get worse. First, the Polo Ralph Lauren logo — on the left breast of Team USA’s $795 formal blazer — is massive, a you-can’t-miss-it advertisement that dwarfs the American flag and Olympic rings logos on the right breast.
(Reality check: Maybe that sort of unapologetic commercialism symbolizes America better than the Stars and Stripes.)
The real affront to patriotism is inside, where the label clearly reads “Made in China.” Ralph Lauren and the U.S. Olympic Committee were panned from coast to coast last week for the slap in the face of the struggling U.S. textile industry. Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) went so far as to suggest we burn the uniforms and start over. What should our athletes wear instead?
“If they have to wear nothing but a singlet saying ‘USA’ on it, painted by hand, that’s what they should do,” Reid said. The U.S. Olympic Committee released a statement: “The U.S. Olympic team is privately funded and we’re grateful for the support of our sponsors. We’re proud of our partnership with Ralph Lauren, an iconic American company.” Notice, they didn’t mention the berets.
So did Ralph Lauren make the right decision on choosing China as the manufacturer of the Olympic clothing for the USA Olympic team or should he have just mad the clothes here at home in the USA?
You decide?!
source:ralphlauren/nj.com/urbanmessmagzine
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