The USOC "less than two years after being criticized for having the U.S. Olympic team's uniforms made in China" is selling red-white-and-blue mittens "produced in China" to raise funds for winter athletes, according to Eddie Pells of the AP. The federation is "charging $14 a pair for the blue gloves that have the word 'Go' embroidered in red on the left mitten and 'USA' on the right." USOC Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer Patrick Sandusky said that the official mittens being worn by the athletes at the opening ceremony "are made in the USA." Those are "also available to the public for $98 a pair on the Ralph Lauren website." But the USOC for its fundraiser was "going for a lower price point" and so far has "raised $500,000 from the mitten sales." The foreign-made mittens are "available at the USOC's official online shop of the U.S. Olympic Team." The USOC has "tried to be extra careful about where its goods are manufactured since running into trouble" in '12 when news broke that its team uniforms for the London Games "were produced in China" (AP, 12/16).
