Making It in America : The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (And How It Got That Way)

**A moving and eye-opening look at the story of manufacturing in America, whether it can ever successfully return to our shores, and why our nation depends on it, told through the experience of one young couple in Maine as they attempt to rebuild a lost industry, ethically. • From the best-selling author __of Into the Raging Sea__** Meet Ben and Whitney Waxman, two tireless idealists attempting to do the impossible: produce an American-made, union-made, all American-sourced sweatshirt—an American hoodie. Ben spent a decade organizing workers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, fighting for Americans at a time when national support for unions had sunk to an all-time low. Struggling with depression and a drug dependency, Ben lands back in his hometown of Portland, Maine, desperate to prove that ethical manufacturing is possible. There, he meets Whitney, a bartender wrestling with her own complicated past. In each other they see a better future, a version of the American dream they can build together. Making It in America is a deeply personal account of one couple’s quest to change the world. As they navigate private struggles, international trade wars, and a global pandemic, their story carries us across the nation and across time, from the cotton fields of Mississippi to New York City’s hollowed-out garment district to a family-owned zipper company in Los Angeles to the enormous knit-and-dye factories in North Carolina. Throughout, we grapple with what “Made in the USA” really means to Americans in the twenty-first century. Making It in America also offers a unique look at global politics, economics, and labor through the story of textile manufacturing. It was the demand for cheap cloth that sparked the industrial revolution. It was the brutality of the textile industry that first drove workers to organize. Making It in America reveals how profoundly manufacturing shapes all of us. Each twist and turn of the Waxmans’ quest tells us how we got here, where we are now, and where we’re headed—through the people that produce the fabric of our lives. "From the best-selling author of Into the Raging Sea comes a moving and eye-opening look at the story of manufacturing in America, whether it can ever successfully return to our shores, and why doing so is vital to our well-being as a nation, told through the experience of one young couple in Maine as they attempt to rebuild a lost industry, ethically. Ben and Whitney Waxman are two tireless idealists trying to do the impossible: make an American-made, union-made, all American-sourced sweatshirt. Ben spent a decade in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin fighting for working men and women at a time when national support for unions had sunk to an all-time low. Paralyzed by depression and a drug addiction, Ben lands back in his hometown of Portland, Maine, forced to rebuild his life from scratch. There, he meets Whitney, a bartender wrestling with her own troubled past. In each other, they see a better future, a version of the American dream they can build together. The Waxman's quest will take us across the nation and across time, from the cotton fields of Mississippi to New York City's hollowed-out garment district to a family-owned zipper company in Los Angeles to the enormous knit-and-dye factories in North Carolina. Tracing the life of a hoodie from the cotton fields to the sewing machine to the convention floor. It will also take us through the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and what this means for the future of American manufacturing. American Hoodie offers a fascinating take on global politics, trade, economics, ethics, and industrial history told through textiles. Woven through the Waxmans' story is the essential history of textiles and its critical role in shaping capitalism. It was the demand for cheap cloth that sparked the industrial revolution, and it was the brutality of the textile industry that first drove workers to organize. American Hoodie is a deeply personal account of how politics and economics shape all of us. Each touchpoint casts a rare, compassionate look at what came before, where we are now, and where we're going-through the people, places, and ecologies that produce the fabric of our lives"-- Provided by publisher How to Make an All-American Hoodie Preamble: The Traffic Jam That Never Ends Introduction: The High Cost of Cheap Stuff Maine Roots This Kid Is Okay Greed Is a Real Thing Witness She’s Outta Your League Reboot Let’s Make Something Game On New Americans A Brief History of the Hoodie Just Pull It and It’s Done 54 Operations Can You Make 5,000? The Fabric King of 38th Street Follow the River It Takes Chutzpah Pandemic Panic Along Route 66 We’ll Come Back We Gotta Shut Up and Listen An Omen Cornering the Cotton Market Labor Pains Your Job Is to Produce The Never-Ending Quest for Smart Money Epilogue Acknowledgments Bibliography Index