Those Kid Rock “Made In Detroit” shirts? … Made in Dominican Republic

Are you a proud owner of a ‘Made in Detroit’ shirt? Well, then maybe you don’t want to read this. Kid Rock’s story about saving the Made in Detroit clothing line from bankruptcy is certainly adorable, but there is one small problem: The Made in Detroit shirts aren’t actually made in Detroit. Although the design originated in the Motor City, the Clarkston company buys its T-shirts from manufacturers in the Dominican Republic, India, Honduras, and even Ohio.

Worse, many of the adult shirts no longer carry a label stating where they were made.

Tommy Dubak, who runs operations for the brand, says that’s simply a design choice made partially because he “hated tags in my shirts.” He says he does not believe there’s any problem with removing the tags, but one staff attorney at the FTC says that organization could take action if a T-shirt does not follow proper labeling rules.

“Sure, many clothes are no longer made in the USA,” writes Susan Tompor from the Detroit Free Press. “But sadly, you’d have to wish that a Made in Detroit T-shirt wasn’t one of them.”