I found an interesting website that I have been buying all of my work clothes through called All American Clothing. As you can tell by the name this company only carries American Made Clothing. The prices are considerably low and they are great quality. I prefer Carhartt Brand carpenter jeans and they are the cheapest I can find them. UPDATE: 12/1/2009 as of today you can only purchase Carhartt on the closeout rack But beyond the great prices and clothing the idea behind the company is great. It supports American Workers. In our current economic times with so many of our fellow friends and neighbors unemployed now is when we need to be buying American Made Goods. So support Made in USA with All American Clothing.
BTW, if you are a Union Member they offer a 10% discount by using – UNIONPLUS – as the coupon code. And be sure to check out their clearance rack as they have great American made clothing for less than what you can buy at Wal-Mart.
Life is often about the simple things. Over the past few months I have been doing some personal testing on different products that I believed would make life easier and more comfortable – mostly for no good reason. The economy is down and most Americans are feeling the effects.
I changed from having a desk job to working in the field doing construction (something I never dreamed I would be doing again). One of the biggest changes and something I didn’t remember was that construction was hard work, I mean real hard. I went from being a relative couch potato to being a professional athlete overnight. I don’t mean I became athletic – my job did. I went from wearing Suits to Boots. I’m no stranger to hard labor – but if you haven’t done it in awhile…
Trading in my argyle socks for a pair of boot socks wasn’t easy. My first day of work I threw on a pair of white cotton socks and came home with blisters! Who knew that such discomfort would make me miserable. I did some testing and found the perfect pair of socks, 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.
I tried a couple different brands and styles and found the 5.11 Tactical 9″ Socks to be the best for my needs. I wanted a moisture wicking and an over the calf sock to keep my pants from sticking to me when wet. They also must be comfortable and durable.
I work in extreme industrial settings and anyone that has ever worked in heavy industry knows that the term “industrial strength” is a joke. Sure it maybe a little tougher but nothing will last with hard use. In a recent 10 week Power Plant outage I broke two 1/2″ ratchets and wore out a pair of work boots. But something that made it was the 5.11 socks. I was surprised considering all the abuse my boots took. I bought the 3 Pair Special and they are going on the next job with me.
Here are my Findings and notes on socks -
If you noticed I did keep track of the country of manufacture. I have been trying to only buy American when it is possible. 5.11 Tactical ® Socks is that the socks are imported.
A down sides to these socks- The fire retardant or ANSI specs are no where to be found. Yeah Yeah! Who cares right? If you have ever seen poly clothing stick to someone after getting burned you would think differently. Kind of surprising considering they market to first responders and fire-fighters. I work around potential flash fires and extreme heat. You get to wondering about what would happen if that 2000 ° Steam Vessel cracked. I happen to like my skin and feet and do what I can to protect them.
If I find a comparable pair of socks Made in the USA that are rated I may switch. But for the moment the best Pair of Socks I have found are the 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.
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