Originally Posted by nantucketsue
Originally Posted by marla
If all fabric is printed and processed in China then we need to change that.
In the UK our once thriving textile industry went to the wall many years ago, along with the jobs that it created, because everything could be produced and made cheaply in third world countries. Now they have the upper hand and prices are rising. Greedy businessmen and the lust for bigger and bigger profits has caused this mayhem. Our governments had neither the foresight nor the will to prevent it. I do hope the US cotton farmers will bear this in mind, because imports will get more and more expensive, and so will shipping costs. Why kill the goose that lays the golden egg? I'm sure there are enough American quilters willing to pay that little extra to keep their industry alive.
I am originally from an area that was at the heart of the British textile industry. My mother used to do the accounting at a mill that was less than a mile from our house and I used to help during my school holidays. One of my cousins and her husband were senior managers in the local textile industry for many years, but were eventually forced to move to Asia to find work in their field. The wonderful old mill buildings are an important part of our architectural heritage and you will still find the word mill in the names of many of these buildings.