China to blame for soaring felt prices...

[Fedora]

Headline news on the prices of felt. I just received a letter today from my feltmaker and here is an excerpt:

"The world skin and fur market has become unstable-due in large by high demand for skins by the Chinese for garment use. This high demand for skins drives up the cost of hatters fur. Some qualities of fur have gone up as much as 37% in the past month alone. I have been told by my suppliers that in the long term, the demand for skins by the Chinese should ease. If and when this happens, the price should stablilize.


Winchester Hat Corp, strives to make the the best quality hat body that your money can buy. We feel that using cheaper or lesser quality furs just to lower our cost is not acceptable. So at this time, we must raise prices XXXX per body just to stay competitive in today's market.

.


We have been assured by our suppliers that there will be no shortage of fur, but that the prices will remain unstable for the near future."



So there it is folks. Now, I think you can expect hat prices from most folks to rise, at least from the factories. I am gonna try and eat the increase in hopes the fur will come back down, but I sorta doubt that it will. Blame China. The thing is, the letter I posted above speaks of the Chinese garment industry, but I know for a fact that China has built modern felt factories, and this is a new demand for hatters fur. I am not so worried about the price increase as I am about the shortages. I would not doubt a shortage in the next year or so until the trappers and farms catch up with the demand. There is usually a lag, and in this interim is when you run short of fur for making hats. I sure hope not. But, time will tell. Fedora

 

[Mycroft]

Headline news on the prices of felt. I just received a letter today from my feltmaker and here is an excerpt:

"The world skin and fur market has become unstable-due in large by high demand for skins by the Chinese for garment use. This high demand for skins drives up the cost of hatters fur. Some qualities of fur have gone up as much as 37% in the past month alone. I have been told by my suppliers that in the long term, the demand for skins by the Chinese should ease. If and when this happens, the price should stablilize.


Winchester Hat Corp, strives to make the the best quality hat body that your money can buy. We feel that using cheaper or lesser quality furs just to lower our cost is not acceptable. So at this time, we must raise prices XXXX per body just to stay competitive in today's market.

.


We have been assured by our suppliers that there will be no shortage of fur, but that the prices will remain unstable for the near future."



So there it is folks. Now, I think you can expect hat prices from most folks to rise, at least from the factories. I am gonna try and eat the increase in hopes the fur will come back down, but I sorta doubt that it will. Blame China. The thing is, the letter I posted above speaks of the Chinese garment industry, but I know for a fact that China has built modern felt factories, and this is a new demand for hatters fur. I am not so worried about the price increase as I am about the shortages. I would not doubt a shortage in the next year or so until the trappers and farms catch up with the demand. There is usually a lag, and in this interim is when you run short of fur for making hats. I sure hope not. But, time will tell. Fedora

Well, we all start our own rabbit and beaver farms if we got real desperete As an independent hatter how effect the cost per hat if you did raise your price( just out curosity)? Also, they still trap for fur, where, isn't illegal? Anyhow, thanks for sharing, this is very intersting.

 

[Kaleponi Craig]

Fedora, you and Art are such a good deal as opposed to other hatters out there, I'm not sure a little raise in price would affect your sales and those of us here at the Lounge or COW would certainly understand...KC

 

[JimD]

Effect of China

Two years ago when China started buying up steel, all types of alloys, and aluminum the prices went up by anywhere from 75% to 200%. A normal 2 week delivery is now quoted in months, sometimes years due to the shortages. So we can only hope they do not decimate the felt industry the same way.

 

[Fedora]

Well, we all start our own rabbit and beaver farms if we got real desperete As an independent hatter how effect the cost per hat if you did raise your price( just out curosity)? Also, they still trap for fur, where, isn't illegal? Anyhow, thanks for sharing, this is very intersting.

Well, for me, the price increase would just be what my increase was per hat body. I am hesitant to say because Greg at Winchester might not like me giving his competition a heads up on his price increase to his customers. Otherwise I would have no qualms about it. What the big guys like Hatco does on the increase is open to speculation. But if some of the fur has increased 37 per cent, I would suspect this would be passed on, plus some for good measure.

You are correct that some animals like beaver are still trapped. And we have plenty of that animal in the USA and Canada. But, if the demand increases, it will not be passed down to the trappers right away. There is a time lag involved. And if the price gets way up, due to demand brought on by China and her population, it will entice other folks to trap. But, all of this takes time, and shortages may very well come about. The ones that will be hurt will be small hatters like me. Who do you think will get first dibs on hat bodies? Not me and other small hatters, but the big accounts. And rightly so. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Two years ago when China started buying up steel, all types of alloys, and aluminum the prices went up by anywhere from 75% to 200%. A normal 2 week delivery is now quoted in months, sometimes years due to the shortages. So we can only hope they do not decimate the felt industry the same way.
Today 04:15 AM

And that is what I am paranoid about. And it is not just hat bodies, or steel, but many things, including products used to generate energy. Fedora

 

[jeboat]

China Syndrome

The "China" effect on fur felt is not a surprise to most of us due to the boom they are going through at this time. A few years ago their economy was in the Dark Ages but because the internet has opened the world to what is out there, the leaders can't suppress the population's drive for a better life.

BTW, take a look at almost any leather jacket or other every day product and see where it is made. Want to take a guess?

jeboat:cool2: :cool2: :cool2:

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Bangladesh?

Everything I own was made in Bangladesh. Or Sri Lanka.

 

[besdor]

Actually , hats are one of the few items of clothing that are still made in the USA . I don't know for how long but hopefully for a while .:cool2:

 

[jeboat]

China hats

As Fedora stated China is either buliding, or will be soon, modern hat factories. It has been rumored for a while that Akubra is going to sub-contract work to China.

It should come as no surprise that hat makers in the USA will succumb to the temptation to go where the labor is cheapest and move that part of our manufacturing base there also. The labor force in China is their greatest natural resource and require a lot of imported commodities much like Japan. That is why there is such a squeeze on steel, etc.

The good news is the hats made there will probably be equal to what Hatco is turning out.

jeboat:cool2: :cool2: :cool2:

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Most folks don't know that, in the 18th century, the incredible growth of America's beaver pelt trade was due to ... China. The Chinese did not heat their homes; hence, the need for warm fur garments. For some reason, the Chinese preferred beaver skin above all others. A clever American named Cornelius Vanderbilt took note of it and cornered the beaver trade. By the end of the 18th century, most of America's beaver pelts were heading directly to China.

History repeats itself!

 

[mthatter]

erased by mt

 

[Section10]

Well, we all start our own rabbit and beaver farms if we got real desperete As an independent hatter how effect the cost per hat if you did raise your price( just out curosity)? Also, they still trap for fur, where, isn't illegal? Anyhow, thanks for sharing, this is very intersting.

During the Great Depression a 15 year old farm boy with a couple dozen traps and a little know how could often make more cash in hand income in a year's time trapping than his father could working the family farm. That's not the case any more though and trapping is more of a hobby than a serious source of income. Professional trappers in the lower 48 are still out there, but are fairly scarce. I've trapped on & off for many years and it's a great way to get outdoors and make a little extra money to boot.

 

[shamus]

Why not just buy vintage? It's usually better quality felt and you don't feel guilty about slaughtering a fur animal since it was already done years ago.

if you're looking for that fedora that looks like it's from the 1940's.. why not just buy a fedora from the 1940's....

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Because....

...we have several Master Hatters here on the Lounge that will have to raise their prices and may have to suffer through a felt shortage because of the Chinese. Some may go out of buisness, you never know. Viintage hats are like ocean front property, when their gone their gone and their prices will continue to climb until then.

I have plans for maybe buying a new custom in the future and would hate like hell for the already high price (my oppinion) to be raised to the point that it really becomes prohibitive.

I'll never buy goods made in China until they become a real Free Market society. But that is not all. Their policies on forced abortion and basic human rights keep me from buying anything made in China.

Shamus, I take it you don't enjoy a good medium rare Ribeye on ocassion. If you wear modern leather belts or shoes do you actually feel guilty that some animal was killed in order to make your life better?