I think the market has changed as Americans have more disposable income and attitudes towards fashion have changed.<p>In the past, our grandparents used to buy those jeans you could buy at the hardware store. Remember those?<p>But now, do you think anybody who is seeking to increase the number of likes in Facebook or Instagram is going to be caught dead on those jeans? No. You want the latest &quot;trendy&quot; jean. But trends are fleeting. So it is a risky proposition for the jean maker. A lot of the expenses are not on making the jeans, but on brand development and marketing. Also, [insert your favorite TV reality show starlet here] will command a few millions just to appear on the show wearing those jeans. Where do you think the money comes from?<p>So I think it is a combination of a) the market has more disposable income but b) refuses to spend it on things that don&#x27;t benefit &quot;me and my appearance&quot; and c) the market became riskier due to the branding risk and therefore is pushed to cut costs to maintain a reasonable return. And if Americans don&#x27;t TRULY care about perpetuating Slavery in China or killing the environment over there (&quot;hey, I do, really, really, but I don&#x27;t want to know about it while taking a sip of my latte;&quot; - checks iPhone for messages just in case someone texted me while you took me to some horrible place where there are what slaves - &quot;no they are not slaves, my $50 gives them jobs okay?&quot; sips latte again), then why would a brand increase their risk by increasing the cost profile?<p>So we see the enemy every time we look at ourselves in the mirror.<p>(Back to sipping my own latte)