By focusing on the how cotton travels around the world, Pietra Rivoli was able to remove the historical impasse between businesses looking overseas for cheap labor and domestic companies afraid of losing everything to cheap imports due to free trade. In “The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy,” Rivoli explains international trade by detailing the life cycle of a T-shirt, all the way to its end. Rivoli begins her journey in the farms of Texas, then moves to the factories in China, returns to U.S retail stores and ends in Africa. Africa is where apparel is resold and the end of a T-shirt’s life cycle.…
Factories have been placed in these countries by massive companies seeking cheap outsourcing, usually in the fields of textiles, footwear, and agriculture. Such companies or brands include Nike, H&M, Wal-Mart, Forever 21, and Victoria’s Secret. Wal-Mart is often criticized for their Bangladesh factories, as these buildings have previously collapsed and killed workers. Regardless, “in the hierarchy of jobs in poor countries, sweltering at a sewing machine isn’t the bottom” (Kristof, N. 2009). Working in a sweatshop factory is at least more comfortable and less dangerous than working in mines or scouring smoldering…
In her essay, “The Importance of Work,” from The Feminine Mystique published in 1963, Betty Friedan confronts American women’s search for identity. She explores the idea that work is closely related to individuality and, therefore, gives individuals a sense of accomplishment. Her book is incredibly famous for sparking a new kind of feminism and inspiring numerous other women across the country. Friedan graduated from Smith College in 1942 with a bachelor’s degree and moved to New York to become a reporter. After getting married and having three children, she stayed home to care for the needs of her family.…
A sweatshop is a manufacturing facility that is characterized by facilitating a environment that displays poor working conditions, some of these include but is not limited to: working for long shifts with no breaks, being paid extremely low wages and most importantly it defines an establishment the in all cognizance violates the Federal Labor Laws. (Jason Hickel). The term “sweatshop” originated in 1892 when the workers in the American garment industry began to complain about their concerns of unsafe working conditions. The garment industries are not the only workplace environment that these conditions exist, employment in the agricultural fields also suffer from the conditions associated with a sweatshops. These laborers are often immigrants, legally…
In class, we have discussed Naomi Klein’s book “No is Not Enough”, Father Arrupe’s “Men and Women for Others”, James Baldwin’s book “No Name in the Street”, and Dr. King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech. In this essay, I will provide answers on what Naomi Klein meant on her book “No is Not Enough” when she mentions Trump as the “personification of the merger of humans and corporations” and how we can improve the government and be able to move in a direction that is fair and just to everyone, what it means to be a person for others based on Father Arrupe’s “Men and Women for Others”, why Dr. King was critical of war in his speech “Beyond Vietnam”, and why James Baldwin’s outlook on racism was wrong in “No Name in the Streets” despite achieving the…
Supermarkets and other eminent high street clothing brands get most of their clothing by subcontracting through a global supply chain. Garment factory workers in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh and other under developed countries taking the strain of low cost clothing. War on Want, a non-governmental organisation has evidence that Tesco and Asda were using a garment factory in Dharka, Bangladesh where the workers were subject to slave wages, forced overtime, overcrowded working conditions that were unsanitary. This is another example of a constraint in a consumer society. Garment factory workers abroad pay the price of terrible pay and working conditions so that those living in consumer society can have cheap clothing.…
This novel is about the life of immigrants moving to America Searching for the American dream. Upton Sinclair originally wrote this for a Socialist magazine to try to show the benefits of changing to a Socialist society, but it is not what the public gained from it. Upton Sinclair is quoted as saying “I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach,” because his novel did not get the reception he was looking for. The Jungle was first published in a Socialist magazine called “The Appeal to Reason” in 1905.…
Naomi Klein argues that what happened in Iraq, and is part of a broader trend globally, is in many ways the opposite of economic and human development. Explain what she means, provide examples from Iraq, and argue EITHER in support of her analysis, or against her analysis. The argument presented by Naomi Klein in her work, “The Shock Doctrine” is that the privatization of the government in the form of disaster capitalism, as seen after the Invasion of Iraq, is counter to economic growth and human development.1 Disaster and crisis was used to swiftly implement the radical privatization that had been slowly creeping into government during the 90’s. This is mirrored dramatically by the War in Iraq and the events leading up to it.…
A “race to the bottom” is defined as a situation in which companies compete with each other to reduce costs by paying the lowest wages and giving workers the worst conditions.” (www.dictionary.com). Most people have a negative view on the race to the bottom, but Pietra Rivoli, author of The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy, takes on a more positive view of it. The race to the bottom mixed up the textile and clothing industry around the world between the late 1700s and the mid-1970s. Rivoli believes that in the end, the race to the bottom will bring development to a country.…
In the article by Orion Magazine, “Forget Shorter Showers” the author, Jenson, conveys that simple gestures that people do--such as driving in eco-friendlier cars or taking shorter showers, will not help the environment. The author instead proposes that people should be focused on bigger industries and trying to make them stop their mass consumptions of certain resources. The author recognizes that doing small gestures can have a minimal impact, but re emphasizes that people shouldn 't act as if this is going to cause a huge change. The author proposes some very vague solutions to these problems relating to stepping up to companies, but is not very clear. Although I agree with some of the way that the author frames the problems, I believe…
Naomi Klein’s 1999 No Logo book not only explores but also challenges the impact globalized brands and companies have had on culture. Under the chapter titled “Threats and Temps” (10) she illustrates her point in the specific area of jobs and what they represent. When we enter the final part of the book, this including chapter 16, Klein describes what is known as “Culture Jamming” where advertising is now used as a tool to convey political messages against either corporations or society itself. In this essay I will develop on to the main arguments Naomi Klein raises in No Logo and furthermore expand by adding my own view on the topic at hand with personal data.…
Who was started in a garage and is now worth billions and billions of dollars, and who’s factories needed to adapt safety nets to catch suicidal “sweatshop” workers. At this one sweatshop in particular in Shenzhen, China employees are paid 1.32 an hour, and build I-phones, I-pads, MacBooks, Microsoft, Dell, and Hewlett Packard products. They work ten hour shifts, and complete tedious jobs such and wiping down screens or shaving aluminum from the edge of the Apple logo. 18 employees have committed suicide while working here alone. Some of the employees were even documented to work 24 hours at a time.…
In the eye-opening documentary, The True Cost, director Andrew Morgan presents a very biased and edited version of events leading to the fast fashion industry and its negative impacts. Through the use of blame register Morgan cleverly uses footage and narration to expose the sweatshops and how they are affecting lives and the environment, to support and strengthen the purpose of the documentary and its title, “The True Cost”. The juxtaposition of contrasting narration and images is done through careful and purposely selected persuasive language. The silencing of garment workers’ unequal treatment outside of work and the fashion companies’ perspectives are selectively cut out. These editing techniques silencing, juxtaposition and the use of…
The fear that was embellished among women, the dehumanization as well as inability to organize and protest is what made these factories more powerful all for the benefit of the rich who fed off the poor. The global assembly line film raises the question, que es la democracia, what is democracy? This democracy that feeds off the poor with the vision of the capitalist society who only seeks profit for the rich. Those who open their eyes to the working conditions are fired, beaten or killed. These issues occur everyday and have been present in our history for many year.…
The Survival of Knights Apparel When Knights Apparel made the decision to reopen a company that is based overseas in another country to assist in their production, the challenges began. Bozich wanted to eliminate unjust treatment that many individuals who work in factories overseas endure. It is crucial to communicate clearly, what the changes will entail along with addressing any dilemmas that may develop during the transition. This modification does not just affect the employees; it affects the company as a whole.…