‘Go USA’ mittens made in China
Speedskater Catriona Le May Doan and basketball player Steve Nash take part in the Olympic torch relay before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at BC Place on Feb. 12, 2010.
A wardrobe malfunction has struck the US Olympic Committee (USOC) once again.
The red-and-blue mittens that say "Go USA" and are being sold to raise money for athletes representing the United States at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi were made in China.
"It says so right on the tag on the inside," pointed out the Associated Press, which first drew attention to the incongruity.
The revelation was reminiscent of the embarrassing discovery before the London 2012 Summer Olympics that Team USA uniforms — designed by all-American brand Ralph Lauren — were also made in China.
This time, however, the move was intentional.
The Chinese-made mittens, sold for fundraising purposes, cost $14; whereas the "official" gloves manufactured in the States retail for $95 a pair — a lesson in globalization.
More from GlobalPost: China calls Team USA uniform brouhaha "blasphemy on the Olympic spirit"
Officials likely figured the expensive version wouldn't sell very well.
USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky told the AP: “We wanted to create a fundraising opportunity where almost anyone could support Team USA.”
After the 2012 outcry, the USOC said that all of its future uniforms would be made in the USA, beginning with the outfits for Sochi.
That is still technically true, given the new gloves are intended for members of the public, but the optics are still not ideal.
The fundraising gloves are based on the Canadian Olympic team's fundraising glove sales during the Vancouver Olympics, according to the AP.
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