Sneakers Still Sport a `Made in USA' Label Most of the US Athletic Footwear Industry Is Based Overseas, but a Number of American Companies Have Set out to Prove That There Are Benefits to Doing Business at Home and Have No Plans to Move

Shelley Donald Coolidge, Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor

WHILE the heart and "sole" of America's athletic footwear industry, including giants Nike Inc. and Reebok International Ltd., manufacture their products on distant shores, a handful of companies remain dedicated to manufacturing in the United States.

In the $11.6 billion industry, 85 to 90 percent of all athletic footwear sold on the US market, excluding canvas shoes, is manufactured overseas, says Thomas Doyle, director of information and research for the National Sporting Goods Association in Mount Prospect, Ill.

About five companies still manufacture parts of their lines in the US. That includes firms that design and assemble shoes domestically but use …

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Publication information: Article title: Sneakers Still Sport a `Made in USA' Label Most of the US Athletic Footwear Industry Is Based Overseas, but a Number of American Companies Have Set out to Prove That There Are Benefits to Doing Business at Home and Have No Plans to Move. Contributors: Shelley Donald Coolidge, Science Monitor - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: December 7, 1993. Page number: 10. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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