The USOC is no stranger to controversy over its sponsorships, with questions being raised over why it opted last year to extend BP's sponsorship through the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

It was also questioned as early as the 2002 during the Winter Games in Salt Lake City about why American athletes donned berets made by Roots, a Canadian company.

Ralph Lauren has designed uniforms for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and both times portions of the clothing were manufactured in China, according to previous CNN reports.

The revelations about the 2012 uniforms, first reported Wednesday night by ABC News, come at a critical time as the United States grapples with a struggling economy that has hit the American textile industry hard.

It also comes as House Democrats introduced a "Make It In America" jobs bill, which was first put forward in 2010 as a manufacturing jobs initiative.

New York-based fashion designer Nanette Lepore, who boasts a "Made In America" collection, said she was disturbed by the news that the uniforms were made in China.

"It's very disturbing because it completely could have been manufactured here in the United States in New York City or in any other city where there's factories that still exist," she told CNN.

"And it's frustrating for us because it's a cause we've been fighting for, and we've been trying to raise awareness and trying to convince designers to move work back to our shores and stop off-shoring and start on-shoring. This would have been the perfect opportunity."

But free market advocates, such as the Cato Institute, say none of this is surprising.

Globalization means manufacturing companies will be drawn to countries where the costs are lowest, according to Daniel J. Ikenson of the Cato Institute.

"When companies are able to outsource, they are able to produce most competitively. They're able to attend to their costs. And if they can do that, then they can deliver better quality, greater variety at lower prices for U.S. consumers," Ikenson said.

The United States is not the only place where citizens have questioned the production of their Olympic uniforms.

Headlines were made in Australia this year when it was revealed that Australian uniforms for the Olympics also were made in China. The Australian Olympic Committee responded to critics by saying it was not financially viable to make the outfits at home, according to local media reports.

Some Canadian lawmakers became irate in 2008, when it was learned that Canadian uniforms for the Olympics in Beijing were made in China.

American companies have made Olympic uniforms in the past, notably, Reebok, Levi's and Champion.