Made In China - Not this time thanks

An interesting new story that popped up this week.

Following a release to the media and some strong public reaction....

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/no-chinese-fabric-will-be-used-in-army-uniforms-says-greg-combet/story-e6frg8yo-1225828735358

It's probably only a matter of time.

cheers.

The truth is that the Australian Army has procured and used 'Made in China' items before. The previously issued OD green lightweight quilts (sleeping bag liners) and first pattern nylon DPCU 2 lt. water bladder covers were two items that come to mind.

The problem is merely a matter of economics. Unfortunately, when companies (and governments) remain transfixed on the 'bottom line' and forget morally higher goals such as obligations to keep one's neighbours employed, issues like this will always remain.

i am a chinese , but i also don't want the ADF gear made in China .

Yes, it is a trend. Most non "western" countries have their uniforms made in China these days. Some of the smaller military "western" countries, like Sweden and Norway, do as well. Others do partial or full outsourcing to cheaper countries, such as Belgium using Tunisia and Italy using Hungary for sources. I don't know about Finland, Denmark, or Spain, but as far as I know the sewing is still done within their own borders. The lower cost industrialized countries of the former Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact appear to still be doing their own production, as is Turkey. The fairly large sized militaries of the UK, US, Germany, Canada, and Australia are bucking the trend and still producing things domestically.

Steve

Steve, Australian military ain't large....... we're tiny.....

heh... well, compared to US and UK, that's true! However, it's a lot bigger than anything else in your neck of the woods. It's also about twice the size of countries like The Netherlands and Belgium. So if the ADF is tiny, then those others are miniscule

Steve

not really indonesia the biggest muslim country in the world and with a large military is right next to us couple of hundred km's away and we have a standing army in the 30000. we have a small defence for compared to most western countries even small euro ones and we have a massive land mass

More on this....
wandering the local market here in Ulaaanbaatar, I came across a roll of Auscam fabric which, like most of the stuff here, is straight out of China.

So, the question is: Is the fabric sourced from China and construction of the uniforms done in Aus?

Cheers
Ben.

p.s. Other patterns found here include French CCE, Singpore Digital, ROK Digital,Iraq police digital, Greece Lizard.

CollectinSteve wrote:Yes, it is a trend. Most non "western" countries have their uniforms made in China these days. Some of the smaller military "western" countries, like Sweden and Norway, do as well. Others do partial or full outsourcing to cheaper countries, such as Belgium using Tunisia and Italy using Hungary for sources. I don't know about Finland, Denmark, or Spain, but as far as I know the sewing is still done within their own borders. The lower cost industrialized countries of the former Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact appear to still be doing their own production, as is Turkey. The fairly large sized militaries of the UK, US, Germany, Canada, and Australia are bucking the trend and still producing things domestically.

Steve

Steve.

I disagree ,The UK DO outsource our MTP to China sadly....sign of the times I'm afraid.

In fact the more I look into this , the more i realise a lot of British kit is made in PRC.

I don't understand the cost savings tradeoff of crappily-assembled uniforms versus decent ones.

Truth be told, it's probably more expensive in the long run to keep on with the bad uniforms, due to how often they must be replaced when they wear out. Sure, the savings may be immediately noticeable, but they carry a negative effect in the long term. Yes, the immediate investment in slighty higher-quality (and therefore more expensive) uniforms may show through at first, but if it lasts, there's a lower replacement cost down the road. Wouldn't it make more sense to invest in a large quantity of well-made uniforms that will last through rigorous use, than to continually purchase equally large batches of crappy uniforms (and crappy replacements) that fall apart after only light wear?

Legitimate uniforms used for proper soldiering, in real combat, need to be well-made and durable... from domestic materials in domestic factories if need-be, to ensure that durability. How efficient can soldiers be in the field if they are constantly at the quartermaster tent, having to replace combat trousers with a blown-out crotch?

Just my 2¢.

Camo_fiend wrote:I don't understand the cost savings tradeoff of crappily-assembled uniforms versus decent ones.

Truth be told, it's probably more expensive in the long run to keep on with the bad uniforms, due to how often they must be replaced when they wear out. Sure, the savings may be immediately noticeable, but they carry a negative effect in the long term. Yes, the immediate investment in slighty higher-quality (and therefore more expensive) uniforms may show through at first, but if it lasts, there's a lower replacement cost down the road. Wouldn't it make more sense to invest in a large quantity of well-made uniforms that will last through rigorous use, than to continually purchase equally large batches of crappy uniforms (and crappy replacements) that fall apart after only light wear?

Legitimate uniforms used for proper soldiering, in real combat, need to be well-made and durable... from domestic materials in domestic factories if need-be, to ensure that durability. How efficient can soldiers be in the field if they are constantly at the quartermaster tent, having to replace combat trousers with a blown-out crotch?

Just my 2¢.

I agree with your thoughts, however I think the sad truth is, is that it's probably cheaper to buy up bulk from China and just replace stuff.

Made in China does`nt necessarily mean crap.We`re just so used to the made in China knock offs that are trully crappy.Other european countries have their uniforms made in China.Besides the Australian army have these made to specs.Truth of the matter is its all about cost cutting.Labor is way much cheaper in China than in OZ.

downboy wrote:Made in China does`nt necessarily mean crap.We`re just so used to the made in China knock offs that are trully crappy.Other european countries have their uniforms made in China.Besides the Australian army have these made to specs.Truth of the matter is its all about cost cutting.Labor is way much cheaper in China than in OZ.

All of downboy's comments are quite valid in my experience. I found Italian Vegetato uniforms and Wustertarn jackets in Hong Kong a few years ago which had me seriously scratching my head. Australian uniforms are made to quite rigid specs. The Govt. will have no problem knocking it back if it's not up to spec - having said that sometimes you come across the odd garment which has been constructed 'differently'.

One of the other factors that hasn't been explored fully is the expected field life of a uniform. Given the climate of Australia, uniforms are going to be relatively lightweight. This means that expected field service life can be quite short, therefore, the requirement may indeed for cheaper, more 'disposable' uniforms.

Made at home does not always mean quality just ask some of our Canadian boys that were in A'stan. Sometimes it means keeping local incompatent or un-competative companies in business. I think our soldiers deserve the best equipment, no matter where its made.

The material for the first CADPAT uniforms was sourced from Pakistan because the Canadian textile industry was not up to producing the digital print.

NZ has some of the new MCU item made in China, Combat Jacket and the Wet Weathers. Nothing wrong with the quality of manufacture, just a case of economics.

Have you worn the wet weathers?

The DPM Swazi stuff is better. Alot better.

Yep, used the jacket the most. Did Gillespie Pass in the SI in some pretty bad side ways rain with pack and it was ok, hard to tell if better or worse so far. Haven't been able to find much out on the material.

Ok fair enough, I wore mine straight from the packet and was wet thru on on the chest and back, after about an hour.  Arms were sweet and jacket zipped right up.

Did you do a RODUM on it? I have heard that there have been some issue with the WW.

Yea it was done.

The new cold weather jacket being issued in the Australian Multicam colours is being supplied by an Australian (Canberra based) company called CROSSFIRE, but it's made in Vietnam!!

Yes but every one rates it highly, finally a good cold weather jacket