Union-made men’s dress shirts
I’m losing weight — 34 pounds so far — and am beginning to swim in my old clothes. I had already planned to replace much of it because they are showing signs of wear, but only with clothes I know can be sourced without sweatshops. I’ve had to step back a bit from my US-made, union-made goal. I’ve got two posts soon about that.
But today, victory.
I wear Van Heusen shirts and like them. Mine are ordinary white pinpoints, US- and union-made. But they vanished in the stores and I figured the jobs were shipped off-shore. But then I saw the company listed at UNITE HERE’s clothing site, so I wrote:
Greetings: I saw Phillips-Van Heusen listed by Unite HERE! as a maker of union-made dress shirts. (http://www.unitehere.org/buyunion/promo.php) I would like to buy these; can you tell me which lines are union made, or how I might buy them in person or online? Yours truly, Scott Wells Washington, D.C.
I got the reply yesterday:
Dear Mr. Wells: The UNITE HERE label is sold in department stores only. In your surrounding area, the label is sold at Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. Please visit www.pvh.com, store locator for the exact address of these department stores. Thank you! Sincerely, Van Heusen Retail Customer Service
Now, Van Heusen has a number of dress shirt lines, some of which are sold locally at Macy’s and Lord and Taylor and some not. I do need a couple of new shirts. I’ll let you know what I come up with.
And if not them, there are other options, but by mail-order and probably at greater cost.


16 April 2008 at 9:09 am
Congrats on the weight loss!