Susan Tompor: Kid Rock's clothing line says 'Made in Detroit' -- but isn't

Dear Susan Tompor,

Let me first start off by cordially inviting you to go fuck yourself. I have always said that I do care what people in my hometown think of me, and the hatchet job you have just written about The Made In Detroit company in The Detroit Free Press has made me so upset that I am left with no choice but to defend myself and my company. I purchased MID out of bankruptcy and asked a friend of mine (Tom Dubak) to give up the security of a good paying job at a car dealership for a chance to help revitalize this brand. The goal of MID is to re-instill a sense of Detroit pride, give back to the community, try to create jobs in our home state and maybe one day build our own facility somewhere close to the riverfront in Detroit. We have succeeded in most of the this and have big plans for the future, not to mention the scholarship fund we have created at Wayne State, the numerous sponsorships we do every year and the hundreds of thousands of dollars we have given to local charities (all of which somehow had no place in your attempt to slander us in your article).

You failed to say that the majority of our products are in fact MADE IN AMERICA. Let me address the small number of MID products not made in America, which were explained to you, but that you felt unimportant to print as part of a well-balanced and fair story. You didn’t care about printing the fact that 98 percent of all clothing sold in America is not made in America. It’s very difficult to even find quality and affordable USA made products, lord knows we have been looking from day one, not only for the MID brand but also for the Kid Rock merchandise we sell on tour. A simple phone call to my KR merchandise company FEA or calls to our suppliers or any other clothing company in America would have told you this. The majority of the clothes that are made in America still import the cottons and other parts needed to make these items from outside of the country.

In addition, we have NEVER laid claim to our items actually being made in Detroit, it’s been on our website since we took the company out of bankruptcy what we are about –

Made In Detroit has created jobs for people in and around Detroit, we’ve made money for local merchants and donated money to many local charities on behalf of MID, Badass Beer and The Kid Rock Foundation along with creating 7 jobs at MID alone. As the owner of Made In Detroit I’ve never taken a dime of salary or profit or even expensed a meal. We, like most brands in America, use some products that are not created in America. That doesn’t mean we can’t do better. We’re trying to move away from those products while still keeping our prices affordable and keeping us and the stores that depend on us in business. You will find a list of things we have done with MID below in which we are extremely proud and because of these and the many other things I have been able to do I walk around my hometown with my head held high. You and your editors ought to be ashamed of yourselves for not only entirely missing the point of what we do but trying to knock down MID, myself and other local brands that have done nothing more than try to prop our city and state up.

I’ll finish by saying that as a result of your article and the lack of respect from not only you but from your editors, The Detroit Free press is on my shit list and my subscription has been canceled. And yes, I will go so far as to ask other like minded folks to do the same if they are tired of garbage, irresponsible reporting like yours.

If there is one thing I have learned from growing up in and around Detroit it’s “Don’t take any shit from no one and be proud of where you come from!” I am. FUCK YOU.

And to the bloggers and press, if you choose to only print part of my statement, please give a link to my website or make my whole statement available on yours.

Sincerely,
Kid Rock

PS. If you’re interested in a fair look at the clothing industry in America check out this ABC News story:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/MadeInAmerica/made-america-clothes-clothing-made-usa/story?id=13108258#.TzJya5iId9l

PPS. Here’s a list of charities Made In Detroit has supported since I’ve taken over. This doesn’t include the well over $1,000,000 the Kid Rock Foundation has donated since just 2010.

Charitable Donations and Sponsorships since 2006
Light House Women’s Shelter
Tara Grant Children Fund
Rainbow Connection
Arts, Beats and Eats - Every year
Stars & Stripes Festival – Every year
Movement Festival – Every year
Detroit Music Awards – Every year
St. Mary’s Prep
Wayne State University Scholarship
DKWIO
Mikie’s Minutes
Karmanos Cancer
Capuchin Soup Kitchen
Coalition on Temporary Shelter
Haven Inc.
American Red Cross
Friends of Belle Isle
Habitat for Humanity Detroit
Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit
Youthville Detroit
Ronald McDonald House
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Boy Scouts of America (local pack)
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Mitten's For Detroit
Boys Club of Flint
Relay For Life-American Cancer Society