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Kid Rock Made In Detroit

February 7, 2012 by · Comments Off on Kid Rock Made In Detroit 

Kid Rock Made In Detroit, When it comes to doing Detroit proud, Kid Rock hits all cylinders with his song “Times Like These” — with lyrics such as “I heard them say they’re shuttin’ Detroit down. But I won’t leave cuz’ this is my hometown.”

So, why in the world are Kid Rock’s high-end “Made in Detroit” T-shirts made in some other country?

On top of that, many of the adult-sized Made in Detroit shirts no longer have any labels to tell you exactly where the T-shirts themselves are made.

The design originated in Detroit, but the blank T-shirts aren’t from here. The Clarkston company buys the cotton canvases from suppliers and then adds the design.

But where are those unlabeled Made in Detroit shirts made?

And where are some other notable shirts made, including others bearing prideful slogans such as “Say Yes to Michigan” or “Imported from Detroit”?

The original Imported from Detroit T-shirts, which rose out of the popular Eminem Super Bowl commercial for Chrysler Group LLC last year, are indeed made in the U.S.A.

“The Chrysler brand team felt that it was important that the products were produced here,” said Dianna Gutierrez, a spokeswoman for the Auburn Hills-based automaker.

What about other shirts? Trips to shops in the Detroit area showed there are Pure Detroit and Made in Detroit shirts made in the U.S., too. But some also are made elsewhere, including Ohio, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and

India.

A “Say Yes to Michigan” shirt I found was made in Ohio.

Tommy Dubak, who runs operations for the Made in Detroit brand out of a rural area of Clarkston, said some shirts sold with the Made in Detroit designs are made in the U.S., he said, but others can be made elsewhere.

Dubak said it sometimes can be hard to know where a T-shirt will be made. One manufacturer can have the same shirts made in one or two different countries. He said right now the Made in Detroit operation, which has seven full-time employees, uses eight or 10 different manufacturers.

Dubak said he has cut out labels from some T-shirts that are bought from suppliers as part of the design choice.

He wanted to use an imprint near the neck that lies flat on the material and uses a screen-print process. Why cut out the tag?

“I hated tags in my shirts,” he said.

Dubak, who said, Kid Rock does not take a salary or expense anything, said it would cost more for Made in U.S.A. shirts but said the company is working toward using more U.S.A.-made shirts

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