Chacos Outsourcing Production to China

If you’re the neo-hippy, outdoorsy, ecology-driven, tree-hugging type (and you probably are if you’re reading this blog) , you most likely sport a pair of Chacos from time to time.  If you don’t, you’ve probably at least heard of Chacos.

So listen up, this post is for you.

It seems that Chacos like far too many other companies with or without a conscience has decided to outsource its production.  Indeed, by summer of 2008 their entire production line will be outsourced to China.

Chaco has always been a herald of environmental and social responsibility.  They encourage their employees to bike to work. They’re a Green Power partner with the EPA.  They donate a good chunk of their earnings to conservation groups.  They even have been named one of the best companies to work for in Colorado. Plus they were assembled in the USA by employees paid fair wages.

In short, buying from Chaco in the past has always been a good choice for an ethics-conscious consumer.

Now, instead of continuing to make strides in this area, Chaco has joined the ranks of so many other companies in its choice to outsource to a nation whose labor laws and environmental ethics are questionable at best.

In an email to me regarding this matter, a Chaco representative  cited competative disadvantage and high production costs as the reason for its move to China.  Additionally, the company says that outsourcing to China will reduce its overall footprint, somehow I find that doubtful.

He wrote:

However, the fact is that Chaco is every bit as subject to the realities of today’s global economy as any other company and it is no longer an economically viable proposition to manufacture relatively simple products by hand in the United States. By attempting to keep production here, when the numbers tell us otherwise, we put ourselves at a distinct competitive disadvantage. That disadvantage means we have substantially less money to invest in enhancements to existing product and in the development of new products. Without those investments, Chaco cannot continue to provide the innovative and high quality products that our customers expect from us.

The Chinese Chaco factory is SA 8000 certified, and Chaco promises that representatives of the company visit the factory.  But, the SA 8000 requirements are foggy and leave quite a bit of grey area such as that wages must allow for “some discretionary income.” SA 8000 certification certainly does not guarantee that the factory will meet the demands of social responsibility, after all GAP, Inc. works with SAI (social accountability international) and that certainly didn’t seem to help the children caught in the latest child slavery scandal.

It’s a sad thing that the company feels the need to close their Paonia-based production line in favor of opening one up in China. And one can talk all one wants about the competing in a global economy, but the decision to outsource shows a lack of commitment to the values that won Chaco its ethics-conscious customers.

And another one bites the dust.

November 19th, 2007