This is what happens when your company is run by 20 year old girls. (NYC hiring manager, is that you?)

If that insufferable sleazebag Dov Charney hadn't been spending all the company's money, time and legal resources fighting off and settling countless sexual harassment lawsuits, maybe he'd have a healthy business.

Good

this is actually really disappointing because i really like that they're such a large company with such an active stance on an issue as important as made in america. their clothes are generally cute enough plus they make really small sizes and i like that a lot of their stuff is unisex. misguided marketing aside i think they're a company that could really use a good image overhaul – what they do is important and shouldn't be taken for granted. i wish all companies would support the american economy to such a degree.

well said!

American Apparel touts themselves as a paragon example of “living wages.” This translates to higher costs, and more costly apparel. AA says Eff U to outsourcing, so they have to charge higher prices. I'm a fan of outsourcing, so I wouldn't give them a cent of my money. Target here I come for a t shirt.

I personally like Target's shirts a lot more. Better quality, lower price.

Unfortunately, American Apparel clothing has been cited many times for hiring illegal immigrants to work in their factories — so their “Made in the USA” marketing appeal is misleading, as much as their hypersexual advertising is misguided. Clothes manufacturers like Alabama Chanin are more worthy of regard because not only do they make their clothing in an economically depressed area of the US, they also teach their employees advanced tailoring skills — something that American Apparel does not do, which hurts the long-term prospects of their workers.More people are willing to buy USA-made products, but those products must have worth for the price — just look at the popularity of Etsy, for example. US made, higher priced t-shirts and leggings just don't make sense past a certain price point to the average consumer, but a handmade, unique scarf that directly supports the creator does.

i used to work at american apparel, i was recruited in the city and then automatically hired, apparently i had “the look”… anyways, as i went for a meeting in the lower east side, the hiring manager approved that i work part time, suggesting i work 1 or two days a week, i differed and offered at least 2 or 3…once i began work, my manager was a 19 year old girl who told me it was unacceptable to come to a job with 'chipped nail polish.' after four brutal weeks of work, on a two week pay check system , with disapointing wages i mght add, my manager refused to give me two days off i asked to reserve for myself the first day i began. she wanted me to work 7 days a week, with two double shifts on weekends…I AM A STUDENT may i add. when i said how perposterous i thought this was i was told “you should be happy to work for such a well appreciated company………”i took my break and never came back after i took my last pay check….FUCK american apparel

i used to work at american apparel, i was recruited in the city and then automatically hired, apparently i had “the look”… anyways, as i went for a meeting in the lower east side, the hiring manager approved that i work part time, suggesting i work 1 or two days a week, i differed and offered at least 2 or 3…once i began work, my manager was a 19 year old girl who told me it was unacceptable to come to a job with 'chipped nail polish.' after four brutal weeks of work, on a two week pay check system , with disapointing wages i mght add, my manager refused to give me two days off i asked to reserve for myself the first day i began. she wanted me to work 7 days a week, with two double shifts on weekends…I AM A STUDENT may i add. when i said how perposterous i thought this was i was told “you should be happy to work for such a well appreciated company………”i took my break and never came back after i took my last pay check….FUCK american apparel

Uh, “misleading”? Whether the factory employees are legal citizens or not doesn't change the location of the factories themselves (the only legitimate point to be made there is that “Made in the USA” can itself be misleading, which is certainly true). And while your praise of Alabama Chanin is legitimate in itself, it does little to support your criticism of American Apparel, given that AC manufactures an entirely different, narrow, high-end niche of clothing styles. Also, there's certainly no Etsy rule enforcing USA-made products (nor are there inspectors visiting sellers to ensure legitimacy of claims). And plenty of the stuff sold by US-based Etsy sellers isn't actually US-made, but rather “US-modified”, and in terms of clothing particularly, much (if not most) of the US-made stuff is some modification of an American Apparel garment (e.g. silkscreened t-shirts). Yeah, there are nice hand-/USA-made scarves to be found, but how many Etsy shops sew their own basic garments?

I believe it's pretty common knowledge they make in Mexico, “Made in USA” is kinda fudging the issue. Technically it's Made in (the) America (s). What II don't see, is how anyone possibly thought there was a realistic basis for their sales to grow enough to be able to pay off a loan of that size. Considering all they are selling is basics, during a recession…

Its called comparative advantage. Outsource the inefficiency. Don't like it? Learn something useful, like a trade. Want to stay employed? Be an electrician, everyone needs lights or learn plumbing – everyone poops. Don't like it? Then complain.

I've worked for them and can confirm they are about as ethical as Hitler was. The company's run by a bunch of mean-spirited, over-grown children.