"But in terms of quality manufacturing, to a scale that can satisfy the demand, Rapha has key pieces of performance roadwear made in the Far East." - Quote from Rapha.

It is funny (in the odd sense) that they are small when that image benefits them, or the arguments in support of them, but they are large in the sense that they have so many orders that they cannot be satisfied with manufacturing within their region (or the region of those that purchase their products). It is my understanding that their bib shorts are made in Italy. I would presume the scale of their sales is similar to that of their jerseys? So scale can't be that much of an issue is it?

Many other brands are able to meet demand through the use of European manufacturers and deliver quality that is equal to, or better than, Rapha. This would include Giordana (made in Italy?), Capo (made in Italy?) and Assos (made in Bulgaria and Slovenia?).

The article seems, at best, disingenuous. It would appear to me that the primary reason they manufacture in China is cost. Man-up Rapha! You try to portray this rugged, individualist image in your marketing campaigns. Don't be such a wuss when it comes to explaining your production choices.

By manufacturing in China Rapha can achieve the bottom line that they are after. That should be the bottom line of the article. To try to obscure this by dancing around the issue and bringing up the state of manufacturing in Japan 50 years ago does not address what appears to be Rapha's primary motivation. The things manufactured in Japan 50 years ago were perceived to be (and probably were) of inferior quality. But that changed dramatically over the ensuing years to the point that Japan deserves their current reputation. But just because Japan did evolve does not mean that China necessarily will or, more importantly, are there now. Japan also evolved in a system with more political freedoms and with a government that did not skew the market through artificial currency manipulations that impacted other economies. And we were free as consumers to judge the quality of Japanese merchandise for ourselves without the manufacturers writing one-sided spin pieces. The article was a shell game on Rapha's part and they should be ashamed to treat their customers with so little respect and candor.

And on the issue of "designed in London and made in China"... Give me a break! With so many of their core pieces the design, in terms of cut and fabric, was fixed many seasons/years ago. Now they are just tweaking color schemes, placement of bands on the chest or arms, etc. How hard is that? They absolutely do not engage in the sort of re-design that Assos does when they come out with new pieces. Rapha's design budget (true design and not marketing) would likely pale in comparison to their budget for either production or marketing. And my guess is that their marketing budget as a percentage of revenue is also much larger than Assos (or Giordana or Capo). So to say that it is designed in London isn't really saying very much. Good for you Rapha! You changed some color schemes in London.

A fair point raised by Quickdraw. Very hard to argue against the propositions that:

1. Chinese production of Rapha's clothing is to a significant extent cost driven - or at least that this is a reasonable assumption for us to make in the absence of financials from Rapha.

2. That when it comes to bikes (where they have a miniscule/ non-existent profit motive) Rapha associate themselves very explicitly and overtly with boutique manufacturers - the very antithesis of low-cost, high volume far east production.

Has the page in question just been taken down?

Instead they stated who they used and linked to that company's ethics charter. That is something that you can check up on. Its more transparent than Assos's or Endura's bumph or Castelli's total lack of information.

http://www.rapha.cc/made-in-china" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you try to execute the link provide in the first post to this thread you will get the message:

Sorry — we couldn't find the page you are looking for. Please try using the search box, or the navigation menu at the top of the page.

A/the blog is know at http://www.rapha.cc/ktc-china. I would like to know the reason for the change. Did they significantly alter the text of the original blog posting?

Try looking then.

http://www.rapha.cc/ktc-china" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ktcquality.com/download/PDF/ ... ctices.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's not hard to find, nor is it hard to check out the Fair Wear Foundation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Wear_Foundation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://fairwear.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Funny, but that URL (i.e. http://www.rapha.cc/ktc-china" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) was in my post. As for trying, try not to be so snarky.

Ah the joys of posting on the internet!!

Just find it funny that no matter what they do they're "damned if they do, damned if they don't".

Oh come on now... They are so persecuted and have done nothing to bring this upon themselves! Really????

Not what I mean.

It doesn't seem to matter what they do, there'll be a section of the cycling community dissatisfied with them no matter what. Not persecution at all!

So it is noted that you are located in London utlimobici. Are you in any way associated with Rapha?

Try looking then.

http://www.rapha.cc/ktc-china" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ktcquality.com/download/PDF/ ... ctices.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's not hard to find, nor is it hard to check out the Fair Wear Foundation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Wear_Foundation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://fairwear.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I actually did not bring up the issues of labor practices despite what you allude to above. But now that you mention it... How does the worker exactly go about enforcing that code of labor practices that you link to in your post? The FWF is an NGO isn't it? Can they, the worker, file suit in China is those practices are not implemented in full? What is the worker's recourse exactly?

(Note, I have read the Wikipedia link on FWF that you provided. What I am asking is what the reality is of the safeguards. An audit or a do-better letter from an NGO probably does not go very far in China. KTC probably pays for the certification, so biases are created. Give me something concrete.)

The prejudice that Chinese-made products are cheap and inferior can be likened to that of the view taken towards electronics and machinery made in Japan fifty years ago. Now, as an economic powerhouse and technological leader, the Made in Japan label holds significant value intellectually as well as economically.