These colors don't fade, even during ocean transport

I guess you could call me a Wal-Mart supporter, based upon my opposition to anti Wal-Mart building measures, and my previous statements that Wal-Mart is only doing to the traditional supermarkets what the traditional supermarkets did to the older markets in the early 20th century. But even I have my limits.

When Wal-Marts initially appeared in my neck of the woods, they used to have banners that touted how Wal-Mart products were made in America, and how Wal-Mart was providing jobs to people in rural North Carolina or wherever.

After a couple of years, those banners disappeared from Wal-Mart stores. (And union members who make a big deal out of this are somewhat reluctant to publicly state where THEIR employers' products are manufactured.)

This stuck in my head as I read this New York Times article that documents how Old Navy and Wal Mart are dueling it out over the sale of U.S. patriotic t-shirts. The Times article documents how Old Navy is selling these t-shirts at a $5 price...while Wal Mart is selling them at a $3 price.

But as we don this patriotic apparel, there is one question that the New York Times article didn't answer - where are these particular t-shirts manufactured? I couldn't find any current information, but here was the score for patriotic apparel as of 2005, according to WCCO TV:

At Target, WCCO-TV found more than 80 pieces of patriotic clothing. Of all the items, only one T-shirt was made in the United States.

At Old Navy, WCCO-TV could not find any American-made patriotic apparel.

At Wal-Mart, more than 40 patriotic items were checked. Most were made in America, which is no accident. Wal-Mart has a policy where any item with an American flag on it must be made in the USA.

A blanket was the only flag item found by WCCO-TV that was not made in America. It was made in China.

And a 2009 check of the Old Navy website indicates that this $5.00 men's tee and this $5.00 women's tee is imported. I couldn't find the $3 tee on the Wal-Mart website, so I don't know if it's domestically made.