Ralph Lauren, one of the United States' leading designers, designed the uniforms the US athletes are wearing at the London Olympics. But the blazers, trousers, skirts and berets, all featuring the stars and stripes, provoked uproar in the US because they carried a made-in-China label.

However, this is not the first time the US team has sported foreign-made uniforms at the Olympics. Toronto-based Roots created the US uniforms for the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 and for Athens in 2004. Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren designed the outfits worn by the US team at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. On each occasion, the uniforms were made outside the US.

The furore over the made-in-China items prompted Ralph Lauren to issue a statement on July 12 saying, "the company promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government to address the issue of increasing manufacturing in the United States". It has also committed itself to producing the uniforms that Team USA will wear at the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

(China Daily 08/02/2012 page6)