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Kid Rock’s ‘Made in Detroit’ Clothing Line Not Actually Made in Detroit

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If you had been hoping that your diehard Kid Rock fandom and merch purchases were justified by the good cause of supporting local industry, we’re sad to let you down: Kid’s clothing line Made in Detroit, it turns out, is so not made in Detroit. According to a report by the Detroit Free Press, the company — which Kid has promoted since the early ’90s, and for which he bought the trademarks and designs after the company filed for bankruptcy back in 2005 — prints its designs on stock apparel imported from countries like India, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. Some pieces apparently don’t even carry manufacturer labels (which, by the way, is totally illegal — FTC regulations mandate that textiles must be labeled with their point of origin).

According MID president Tommy Dubak, the operation uses anywhere from eight to 10 different manufacturers, all of whom get their supplies from who-knows-where. The company — which says on its website that it’s "born to represent" (though perhaps just represent and nothing more) — also has a paltry seven full-time employees, which begs the question: not clothes, not jobs — what, exactly, is being made in Detroit, here, Kid?

Dubak wants people to look on the bright side, though. He says that the rocker doesn’t take profits from the operation (or at least not a salary) and that they will be looking into using more stateside-manufactured textiles in the future.