It cost more to build in the USA.
The real cost of doing business with China?
UPstrap® has been making camera straps in the USA since 2004. Most strap manufactures build their camera straps and camera bags offshore.
Manufacturing is international in large part because of cheap labor. Spending an extra $20.00 for a USA made camera strap is a small price to pay to keep your amazing $5,000 camera and lens (made in Japan) safely attached to your body.
The Made in the USA label can be confusing. The FTC finally put a sharper point on the claim (see 45a of the FTC). California has stricter rules defining made in the USA. There remains a little wiggle room when the components of an assembly are not 100% sourced within the USA.
The FTC says, (This is government-speak. Don't blame me.)
"The determination that the article, unit, or part of the merchandise cannot be manufactured, produced, or obtained within the United States from a domestic source shall not be based on the cost of the article, unit, or part."
An example of a made in USA loophole is using canvas shipped in from India that are die-cut into panels. The canvas panels are shipped to southern Texas and sewn into a bag by a Mexican labor force who commutes from Mexico. The product is marked; Made in the USA.
UPstrap® started in 2004. To date, our straps are made in the USA. At one point, I did the math and figured that we were 97% USA. It is tough to nail down the facts as USA suppliers are hesitant to provide their supplier sources. I can tell you that the labor in our manufacturing/build process is 100% USA labor. We manufacturer our No-Fail tri-glides in the USA. The source of steel is unknown. Our medium tri-glide is cast in China but plated in the USA. Our 3/8" webbing for the large and medium camera straps and slings is both designed and woven in the USA. The yarn is sourced worldwide.
We manufactured the big metal plates that hot mold the pad to the strap in the USA. I do not know where the toolmaker sourced the steel. We manufacturer the Sure-Grip pads in the USA. The source of the polymer material is both national and international sources. We manufacturer the Sure-Grip pads in the USA.
We manufacturer the leather sling in the USA using 50% of USA hides and 50% hides from Brazil. The web on the large and medium straps; made in the USA. The Vectran™ cord; made in the USA. The source of the Vectran™ yarn is international—the Kevlar web on the Quick Release Clip is manufactured in the USA. Our lightweight web that Ken Rockwell prefers; sourced offshore. We use it on the X Crossover and Friendship pad.
The quick-release clips are manufactured in the USA. The no-fail design is a joint design effort between the military and the manufacturer. The source of the material used in the release is proprietary.
It can be difficult to substantiate an unqualified Made in the USA claim. Here it is in government-speak; "Made in USA" claim[a] product that is all or virtually all made in the United States will ordinarily be one in which all significant parts and processing that go into the product are of U.S. origin."