Question about UT Kilts?

[The Wizard of BC]

I guess I'm one of the odd ones as I don't really have a problem with kilts made somewhere else.

If you factor in the cost of fabric purchased in N. America, and add the labor rate of a skilled kiltmaker, you will very fast exceed the cost of any product made where a good working wage is $4.00 per day. This is exactly the same reason why 90% of everything in your closet is made somewhere else. We in N. America have simply priced ourselves out of the market.

The only thing I object to is the business practices of some of the companies you see on the web and the products they offer. If you look at the tags inside almost every kilt made in Pakistan they say "Designed in Scotland". No where does it say where it was made.
The tag also says "Authentic woven Tartan". But what Tartan? And did the weaver get the thread count from the Scottish Register of Tartan or did they guess from a photograph taken by stealth at a Scottish Trade show?
These kilts often carry a care tag that will say something like 6-8 yards of 100% Acrylic Wool. What? Do they have plastic sheep?

A few of these companies, (and there are hundreds of little, tiny operations, all in the same town) have a totally different concept of intellectual property rights. It is not uncommon at Scottish Trade shows for the Scottish Companies not to have any products out on counters or anywhere that someone can walk by with a cell phone, take a photo and send the design of any new product to the middle east. Within a week thousands of knock-offs have been made and can be sold for a fraction of the price of the original.
This is normal and an accepted business practice in these cultures. They expect others to steal their ideas. It all comes down to who can get the product made and on the market first.

Where this business practice hurts us is that there are now hundreds of copies of Scottish or N. American products and the average ebay buyer has no idea of what or what did not go into it.

But these inexpensive products do fill a niche. Ebay is full of them and they are selling as fast as they can put them on-line. There are tourists on a fixed travel budget who just want to be able to say "I went to Scotland and bought a kilt". They have no intention of wearing it but once or twice. It may get pulled out at Halloween or for a local Highland Games.
These tourists want and a kilt. They are willing to pay $100.00, but cannot afford the cost of a 16oz custom made kilt.

[tundramanq]

Amazon is suffering from the same issues as eBay now. It's always "buyer beware" with kilts regardless of where they are made.
But Steve is right on the mark. The low production numbers plus the complexity of a utility kilt's construction precludes it actually being made in North America for less than $100.
Some like the 511 TDK are very well made of quality material in Vietnam for $75. I have several other clothing items made in (South) Vietnam that are well made. I think they and South Korea get the North American quality ethic and sizing much better than the rest of continental Asia.

The feel I get on social media about UT kilts is they are OK unless the owner also has the gold standard, expensive, Utilikilts also. Then the fabric is light weight for windy or daily use. I don't have any UT's but I have sampled a few kilts from US sellers and they seem in the same boat. The curse online is they avoid telling you the weight of fabric or any other "not so great" details. I will not consider buying a kilt unless there are product pictures from all sides first. ( This still doesn't protect you from shallow pleats - I have seen some that are down right symbolic and the kilt will act more like a ladies hobble skirt than a kilt. They will splay the front aprons any time you try to sit or take long strides. I bought one and returned it. Another policy to look for...