Once the cheap imports became available they all started selling it. They should have put labels on the clothing that said “Made in Taiwan By Six Year Olds”.
But, we buy it because we all want to pay less.
There were operations that produced frankly US made items for years. They yielded out of a combination of apathy and self fulfilling prophecy and governmental meddling. If we required the same overall philosophy from Chinese factories that we do out of ours, we’d soon be giving China a run for its money again. It used to be that imports were for rare items, not everyday ones.
I first became aware of that years ago. I started checking labels.
I haven’t bought anything but fuel, groceries and booze for over 5 years. My daughter and some friends keep telling me to buy new clothes, the ones I wear are getting baggy because of weight loss. I’ve even been able to save money and now have a savings account.