Alpinist magazine is made in China
I do think is sucks that a boutique brand would outsource themselves to China (after all, as what pointed out in one of the above articles, the main consumers are purchasing because they are looking for a MADE IN CANADA or MADE IN THE USA label. But then perhaps Arcatearix doesn't want to be a boutique brand anymore (or rather isn't one anymore). That's their call.
Hopefully those skilled workers displaced by any outsourcing will contribute to starting a new boutique brand of quality (and maybe more affordable?) outdoor wear. Then we can all get our elite kewl $ climbing gear and laugh at the Arcateryx wearers like we did at the TNF puffy wearers of old.
Quality is definitely going up for stuff made in China, and I'm sure there are people on this board more familiar with the quality control processes being implemented over there. Like anywhere else, quality manufacturing costs more money.
Someday China will make EVERYTHING and Canada and the United States will only exist to do Information Storage and Retrieval. Its all part of the Communist plot to take over the world.