What are wire coat hangers made of?

Wire coat hangers are made of steel. They typically consist of a loop of wire in a flat triangular shape with a hook at the top.

The U.S. dry-cleaning industry uses about 3.3 billion wire hangers each year. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed a tariff on wire hangers when it discovered that Chinese factories were shipping hangers to the United States below cost. The tariff caused prices to rise from 4 cents to 10 cents per hanger and drew the ire of many dry cleaners. However, the tariff helped the only remaining U.S. maker of wire hangers, M&B Hanger Co. of Alabama, which produces its hangers from recycled steel.