What the American patriotism t-shirt tells us

A T-shirt has been flying off the shelves at Walmart, one of the largest U.S. retailers. Released for last year’s Independence Day (July 4th), the shirt features “AMERICAN MADE” emblazoned across the chest, with a small American flag printed near the hem. At first glance, it seems like just another product aimed at tapping into patriotic sentiment, but it stands out for two reasons. First, it’s priced at an affordable 12.98 U.S. dollars. Second, every step of its production process—from spinning and dyeing to sewing—takes place entirely in the U.S., with the cotton sourced domestically as well.

The T-shirt comes from a company called American Giant, founded by Bayard Winthrop in 2011. Winthrop says he was inspired by childhood nostalgia. In the 1970s, when he was growing up, the U.S. clothing industry thrived. It wasn’t uncommon to see people wearing high-quality, domestically produced clothes. However, globalization led manufacturers to move production to low-cost countries such as China and imported apparel quickly flooded the U.S. market. Winthrop set out to prove that the U.S. could still produce high-quality, affordable clothing. His company partnered with farms in the southern U.S. to procure raw materials at competitive prices, reduced production costs through factory automation, and secured a large-scale supply deal with Walmart, which provided a stable sales channel. This combination made the $13 T-shirt possible.

However, such success stories remain the exception rather than the rule. Over 95% of clothing sold in the U.S. is still imported. Nonetheless, American Giant’s “small experiment” has resonated deeply in the U.S. It has shown that a fully domestic supply chain can still produce competitive products. Moreover, it offers a blueprint for preserving industrial infrastructure and creating jobs, giving Americans a reason to believe in their manufacturing sector again.

But while the U.S. celebrates these strides toward revitalizing its manufacturing, this shift presents significant challenges for Korea. As the U.S. raises tariff barriers and strengthens domestic supply chains, it leaves less room for Korean companies to compete in the massive North American market. South Korea is already grappling with slowing exports to China, its largest market, but last year, it managed to achieve a record trade surplus with the U.S., holding its ground in a difficult trade environment. Now, however, the landscape is shifting quickly.

Korean businesses face a double threat: pressure from the U.S. and an onslaught of low-cost Chinese goods. If a flood of cheap Chinese imports overruns the domestic market while access to key overseas markets such as the U.S. is further restricted, South Korea could be staring at more than a trade crisis—it could face the risk of industrial collapse. With the global environment becoming increasingly hostile, South Korea’s internal disarray only compounds the problem, leaving businesses to face what could be one of their most precarious years yet.

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