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Made
in China
Teva founder defends his licensee’s decision to move manufacturing
to China
By
Dan Frazier
Tea Party Editor
Today 96 percent of footwear sold in the U.S. is
imported, with 75 percent of footwear imports coming from China,
according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Teva
footwear is no exception. Though Teva founder Mark Thatcher was not
involved in the decision to move the manufacture of Teva footwear to
China, he defends the decision. During a recent interview, Thatcher
spoke about his visit to the Chinese factories where Teva footwear
is produced, and insisted that he did not see the kind of sweatshop
conditions human rights activists condemn.
Soon after Mark Thatcher partnered with Deckers
Outdoor Corporation about 1985, Deckers began manufacturing Teva
sandals in its factory in Carpinteria, Calif. The factory also
produced other brands of footwear as well as leather products. But
during the early 90s, Deckers began experimenting with manufacturing
outside of the country. Deckers started manufacturing in places like
South America, and Mexico, and later, in Taiwan and Korea, moving
its manufacturing operations to keep pace with industry trends.
Within the last three or four years, Deckers has moved its footwear
manufacturing to China. Today, Deckers is the licensee for Simple
and Ugg brand footwear, as well as Teva.
Though
Teva currently comprises about 60 percent of Deckers’ sales,
Thatcher explained that his licensing agreement with Deckers does
not give him control over where Teva footwear is manufactured.
“Once
I sign a contract with a licensee, with Deckers in this instance,
it’s their responsibility to manufacture and it’s my
responsibility to approve the quality, not the source of
manufacture.”
But
even if Thatcher had control over where Teva footwear is produced,
it seems unlikely that he would go against the tide of
globalization.
“The
best manufacturing facilities in the world are in China. For shoes,
that’s where they are. … The fanciest (manufacturing) equipment
goes to where the cheapest labor is. It’s just sort of an
algebraic equation.”
The gradual shift to overseas production was not
alarming to Thatcher.
“I felt like as long as there was no involvement in
any place that was below board – no involvement with underage
labor, prison labor – in the case of China, these are the things
that are rumored, that there was no belief on my part that a
better product or a good product couldn’t be made offshore.”
Thatcher believes richer nations can help poorer
nations pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or their sandal
straps, as the case may be. He
recalled the sentiments of the founder of Simple shoes.
“He used to say, ‘Well I’m going to put on my
hang-tag, MADE IN WORLD, not MADE IN U.S.A., not MADE IN CHINA, MADE
IN WORLD.’
“What he was implying by that is that there’s
needy people there that need the work and this is what they’re
doing to pull themselves up and there’s nothing wrong with that. I
also believe in that.”
Thatcher believes that trade with China will
ultimately improve working conditions and bring about improvements
in China’s environmental record.
“It’s somewhat condescending for the U.S. to come
to China and say, ‘Well, you have to do this like our
(Occupational Safety and Health Administration) does this. You have
to do this like our (Environmental Protection Agency) does that.’
I think the Chinese will demand that themselves when the time is
right. And we can’t really push the process. The best thing we can
do to push the process is to buy clean untainted product. … When I
say untainted I mean of course nothing that’s underage or prison
labor. I think all China is getting away from that to what degree it
ever existed.”
Thatcher has doubts about the validity of some of the
anti-free trade arguments he has heard raised by political activists
in the U.S. In particular, he questions arguments that cite the use
of underage labor and prison labor as a basis for boycotts of
Chinese products.
“From my perspective, those points have been
exaggerated just to rile people up.”
Thatcher visited China one year ago for the first
time. His wife also made the trip. During his 10-day visit, Thatcher
spent his time in Guangzhou, near Xianggang (formerly Hong Kong).
Guangzhou, is home to dozens of footwear factories. Three of these
factories, all owned by a Taiwanese company, are involved in the
production of Teva footwear, as well as several other brands.
Thatcher was in China to make a final inspection of
new styles of Teva footwear about to go into production. The
production process itself was a startling blend of old and new
technologies.
“One shop I went into was a mold-making shop in
Guangzhou. It amazed me. … I saw everything from primitive wooden
tables with sparks flying and people banging with hammers on molds
to the next room over, young college educated guys doing cad-cam
design on computers. They have every kind of manufacturing depending
on how much you want to spend and what kind of product you want to
end up with – in the same darn factory.”
Though Thatcher and his wife were not in China to
inspect factories, they were of course curious to see what the
factories were really like.
“We took a good look at the conditions in the
factories. They’re extremely clean. There were no underage
workers. They’re very sensitive about all the accusations that
have floated out about manufacturing in China.”
One part of the factories that Thatcher did not get to
see firsthand, except at a distance, was the dormitories, where the
workers live.
“Everybody
in China lives at the factory. ... Their pay is above and beyond
room and board. … Poor peasant people from smaller provinces …
in the North will leave once they graduate high school and come down
and put in anywhere from 2 to 10 years living in dormitory
situations and factories and saving up money so that they can go
back … to their town and buy … land to grow rice and marry.”
Asked about the wages of workers producing Teva
footwear, Thatcher did not cite specific figures.
“I think if you were to know what they got paid, it
would probably be appalling to you. But you’d also need to take
into account that they get free room and board. … It’s by far
better money than they could make back home in the rural province
that they might have come from.”
After
being interviewed for this story, Thatcher prepared a written
statement elaborating on his position with regard to China. Here are
some excerpts:
“I
believe we probably share some similar beliefs and concerns about
local and global environmental needs. Is the fastest way to get
those needs met by supporting or by slowing international trade
cooperation? While organizations (and agreements) such as NAFTA, the
GATT, and the WTO regulate trade at the moment mostly to promote
freer trade, I believe these organizations can and will evolve to
promote environmental and social good – even in spite of
themselves – and even now help to provide alternatives to bare
subsistence agriculture for many people.
Regarding
Decker’s China production: Unlike a huge company such as Nike, the
best I could negotiate from my Deckers license was quality control
and permission to do on-sight inspections of the factories used.
Prior to our current license (signed a year ago), permission to
visit the factories had been denied to me. … I found (the
factories I visited in China) all to be clean, well organized,
ventilated and safe beyond (I’m told) any government requirements.
While we have heard about lesser B and C grade factories, Deckers
has chosen and I have only seen A-grade factories.
While
I cannot be 100 percent (sure) of not being hoodwinked in some way,
the Chinese workers I observed there seemed content, motivated,
proud of their work and loyal to their employers. Most importantly,
they seemed very appreciative to have work.”
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