“I want our athletes to feel pride in wearing American-made garments,” said Chapman, who also serves as chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO). “We’re all about made in America. We’ve been here 115 years and we don’t plan on going anywhere. We have 750 people who work for us and we’re all proud to be manufacturers of products in the U.S."

 

Knowing he had a hand in producing fabric worn by U.S. Olympians gives 20-year Inman Mills’ weaver Ray Parks a sense of pride, he said.

 

“I’ll watch the Olympic ceremonies with my kids and grandkids and will be sure to let them know that I helped make those pants,” he said. “This is an excellent company to work for and I’m glad to be a part of something so big.”

 

Mountain Shoals’ Plant Manager Kemp Smith said that every customer job Inman gets is important, but employees don’t often get a chance to see their work on a global stage.

 

“Most of the time, because we don’t make finished fabric, our employees don’t really get to see the end product,” he said. “So this will be a special moment for them.”

 

And this “moment” will be meaningful to Spartanburg County and will serve a larger purpose, Smith added.

 

“It gives us an opportunity to tell the people in our community and families what we do here and let them know the textile industry in America is still here,” he said. “What we do, in a lot of cases, ends up in a lot of special products.”

 

Ralph Lauren joins made in America movement

 

For the Olympics, at least, Ralph Lauren has gone “full-bore” made in America since being criticized in 2012 for having Team USA’s uniforms made in China for the London Games. In a statement released during those Games, the New York-based brand and retailer said, "Ralph Lauren promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government to address the issue to increase manufacturing in the United States."

 

It delivered on its promise during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, when all of the athletes’ parade uniforms were made in the U.S., including their Opening Ceremony sweater.

 

For this year’s Games, Ralph Lauren said it identified more than 40 U.S. partners and manufacturers to create the uniforms – numbering around 1,200 between the Olympics and the Paralymics.

 

Wednesday, swimmer Michael Phelps, competing in his fifth consecutive Summer Games and the most decorated Olympian of all time, was selected to be the U.S. flag bearer during the Opening Ceremony. And smart textiles will be incorporated in his jacket, as electroluminescent panels and a battery pack will light up the Olympic patch on the front and the letters across the back.

 

The flag bearer jacket “will literally light the way” for Team USA, Ralph Lauren Corp. said in a release.

 

“This groundbreaking jacket exemplifies Ralph Lauren’s continued exploration of the intersection of fashion and technology,” said David Lauren, executive vice president, Global Advertising, Marketing & Communications. “For an athlete, being chosen as the flag bearer for Team USA is an extraordinary honor, and we wanted to pay tribute to that position. Ralph Lauren is incredibly proud to dress America’s best and brightest athletes at the world’s premier sporting event.”