American Rags

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the sage advice was given to always carry a towel. I find a bandana to be nearly as useful and a good deal more portable. In summer it's an absolute necessity for wiping sweat off my face and neck; it can be handy for wiping stuff off my glasses; and when on the T it's a polite and somewhat more sanitary way to muffle sneezes.

So I try to keep one in my bag. I have a bunch of them in different colors that I've acquired over the years, and they last a long time. Eventually, though, they do start to get threadbare and need to be replaced. All my bandanas have a little "made in USA" incorporated into the design, usually in the lower right corner. But when I went looking for bandanas at Target a while back (you have to look around, but you'll find them near the socks and underwear), I noticed that they said "made in China."

What, we can't even make bandanas anymore? I thought it must be possible to still buy made-in-USA bandanas. I checked that sketchy army-navy store in Downtown Crossing, and the ones they sell are also made in China. I bought a couple of them, but they were terrible. The fabric was rough, and didn't soften with washing the way my older, American-made ones did. In fact, after a few washings the edges started to fray and unravel. I threw them away, wishing I hadn't wasted the $2 each on them (more on principle than because of the actual outlay).

I checked a couple of work-clothing sites I remembered from a few years ago, when I was looking for a Dickies canvas jacket, and found nothing. Duluth Trading used to sell a bundle of half a dozen bandanas, but they no longer do. I even tried a site that sells biker boots and leathers; they now carry high-tech, synthetic, sweat-wicking 'do-rags. Progress, I guess.

A google search led me to two sites, Wholesale For Everyone and Tan's Club, where you can buy bandanas by the dozen or individual pieces. I ended up ordering from WFE, because their shipping was cheaper and because, as I added individual bandanas in different colors to my shopping cart, a quantity discount took effect, lowering the total cost of the order slightly.

It seemed kind of silly to me to have to pay $6 to get a few bandanas shipped from New Jersey, but with the quantity discount the total was around $20 for eight bandanas, which isn't really much more than buying them in a store, and they're American-made. Including the ones I have that are still in usable condition, I should be set for a long time.