Comfort Works IKEA Slipcovers: Made in China, not Australia

Update:  On  4/1/2013 I received a great and detailed email response from the owner of the company explaining that as they grew they did have to move the manufacturing to Hong Kong, but they established their own workshop, manage it, and are going to update their website to provide more clarity. 

Yesterday I shared our new leather couch cover from Comfort Works, the “Australian” company known across the blogosphere for custom IKEA slipcovers.  What I didn’t get into was the disappointment I felt when the cover arrived and I saw it was Made in China, not Australia.

I read the Comfort Works “About” page, the FAQs, and even their Facebook profile in an attempt to learn about their company before purchasing from them, and I (mistakenly) believed the products were made in Australia.

The Comfort Works Facebook page states “We are an Australian-based and owned online workroom designed to produce custom made IKEA Sofa Covers, Curtains, Pillow and Cushion Slipcovers.”

Australian-based and owned.  That seems to be the key, as now I realize they’re not saying anything about manufacturing, just business headquarters.

In the “About” section of the Comfort Works website, I read “by luck, we discovered family of talented seamstresses with superpowers to turn sheets of fabric into a wonderful pieces of cover. This was the beginning. Every piece of soft-furnishing is carefully hand cut and made with expert attention to detail, within our very own small workshop – that’s right, no outsourcing, nor any use of third party suppliers.”

When I read that, I naively assumed that meant they found seamstresses in, and had their own workshop in, Australia.

So what do I want?

Though I am far from perfect when it comes to ethical shopping, I try to make educated decisions and avoid purchases of unethically produced or Made in China products as much as possible, especially when there are alternatives available.

When I do end up purchasing something Made in China, I like to know I am doing so ahead of time.

I would have liked the Comfort Works website to be more transparent about the manufacturing of their goods, letting consumers know that their workroom and seamstresses are located in China, but that (hopefully) they have taken steps x, y, z to ensure ethical labor practices are followed.

Because Ryan loves his bachelor-days sofa, I still would have ordered the leather cover for him, because he really wanted it.  I just would have appreciated being a more well-informed consumer. The omission of information leads me to believe they have something to hide. 

My email to Comfort Works, sharing my happiness with the product but disappointment in the Made in China aspect, and asking for more information about their production line / factory, has not been answered yet.