Kid Rock's 'Made In Detroit' T-Shirts Aren't Made in Detroit

Alexander Abad-Santos 1,318 Views Feb 6, 2012

Kid Rock's "Made In Detroit" clothing line is selling pretty well and claims to be doing its part to support America's comeback city, but The Detroit Free Press has found that the shirts are coming from the Dominican Republic, India, Honduras and... Ohio. The Freep's Susan Tompor reports on how Kid Rock and a political and pop cultural push helped bring the label back from bankruptcy. According to the Made in Detroit website, "It's Made In Detroit and for 20 years it has been the singular symbol for a city that's not about to quit... [I]t's the official mark of a movement that belongs to all of us. Born to represent, this is Made In Detroit."  

With all this posturing, and Detroit pride, Tompor was a bit surprised after she paid a visit to an official retailer:

There was a "Say Yes to Michigan" shirt, $28, made in Ohio by Homage, a small- to medium-sized company based out of Columbus. That's kinda ironic.

And I found a Made in Detroit shirt, selling for $40, with a label that said it was made in the Dominican Republic.

When I took a ride to Incognito in downtown Royal Oak, I found a Made in Detroit baby onesie priced at $22 and made in India. And I saw a toddler Made in Detroit pink shirt priced at $18 made in Honduras.

But I did not find any label for where an adult-sized Made in Detroit shirt at Incognito was made. Sort of keeping that manufacturing process incognito, I guess?

For Tompor's full story and the owners' explanations for the non-Detroit Made In Detroit shirts, head on over to the Detroit Free Press

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