Condom production and procurement- Buying American doesn't mean better quality

I read an incendiary piece in the Kansas City Star that pushes buying "American"- even condoms. While my heart goes out to the folks working at Alatech condoms in the US, the company has not necessarily produced condoms superior in quality to those produced in Asia and those problems increase risk of HIV transmission worldwide. Here is my response to the author.

Dear Mr. McGraw,

I believe your article about the condom situation is unfair. Alatech is the sole remaining condom producing company in the US in spite of major investment of the US government to support US-based condom producers. There was another US condom company, but even with major funding from the US gov’t, had to close down. One big issue is that the colloidal latex used in condom production is from latex trees- most of whom grow in Thailand, China, Brazil, and Indonesia. Condom production outside of the global South doesn’t really make sense. Just look at where the Durex and Trojan condoms are produced- in places like India, Thailand, and South Korea- from the same plants USAID gets condoms from.

I bet if you had interviewed someone in procurement at USAID or UNFPA, you would have found out that there have been issues with condoms procured from Alatech- including inconsistent size and thickness and MAJOR delays between ordering and delivery. The US government is not without fault, but I think reducing its use of Alatech condoms was the best decision. Even if these condoms still “worked” to prevent transmission of HIV (not AIDS, as you wrote), the variability in size, shape, and thickness would make the consumer unhappy and may decrease consistency of condom use- a dangerous behavior in these times of HIV. If Alatech had been faster in making changes based on the feedback it was getting- they could have saved those 300 jobs. Perhaps all of this governmental protection from international competition made Alatech lazy. I don’t want condom producers to be lazy- I want them to worry day and night to ensure that they produce the best quality condom they can.

Your use of “cheaper” perhaps should have been “less expensive”- as Unidus and Butterfly plants go through a rigorous pre-procurement vetting and certification procedure. From my experience, Unidus condoms are not only high quality-but are superior to Alatech condoms in their consistency of shape, size, and thickness. There is more than one condom manufacturing plant in China and while some plants have issues with quality- the certified and pre-approved plants have earned going through the quality assurance gauntlet.

I was disappointed that you only interviewed Alatech staff and an Alatech consultant- your readers have only gotten half the story. It is a shame American jobs are in danger- I only wished that the high paid executive staff would have done a better job at defending them.

Read the Kansas City Star article U.S. move to cheaper Chinese condoms threatens American jobs

Update: I've sent another letter with some clarifications and here are some snippets....

It made sense that a greater burden of condom procurement was moving towards Asia because of the ready access to the supply. I'm thinking about what would be more affordable for someone in Africa buying a condom where the latex came from Thailand but the condom was made in the US or buying a condom that was sourced and produced in Thailand and shipped directly to the country. It also sounds like a "greener" system. .....

Government regulations on the acceptability of variation of shape and thickness within an order seems to be a bit more lax than the standard for the commercial companies (ex. Trojan)- so an order may meet gov't needs but still result in some unhappy end-consumers. Thinking about the HIV epidemic, I wouldn't want high risk populations to have any additional reasons (valid or not) to not use a condom. ....

There are issues with quality of different kinds of Chinese products. However, just because there are issues with some plants and some products, this does not mean all Chinese products are poor grade. China has some terrible condom plants, but also have some that meet international standards- they are audited on quality standards regularly to ensure this. The same plants that produce condoms like Durex in places like Thailand and India are held to these same standards. Why are condom companies like Durex, Trojan, or European brands not purchasing from Alatech (to my knowledge, they are not, but I may be mistaken)- is it just price or are there other questions?....