The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade by Pietra Rivoli follows the life of a t-shirt, from cotton farms in Lubbock, Texas, to the textile factories in China, back to America, and then to used-clothes vendors in Tanzania. Along the way, Rivoli discussed the political, economic, and social forces that affect the textile industry, free trade, and globalization. Rivoli’s journey began when a student activist at Georgetown University asked “Who made your T-shirt?” during an anti-globalization protest. She then decided to trace the origin and travel of a T-shirt sold in the United States in order to examine not only the history and economics behind global trade, but also
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Rivoli talked about the harsh working conditions of Chinese factories and sweatshops, noting the shift in management attitude from the Mao Zedong regime to the time period after the revolution. Processing and manufacturing t-shirts was centralized in China and eventually other Asian countries due to their lead in the “race to the bottom” (70-71). Chinese factory workers were compared to mill workers during the Industrial Revolution; these comparisons seemed to suggest that the “race to the bottom” is an eventual consequence of technological advances and free trade, however, Rivoli did a thorough job of explaining the emergence of a new niche market where price is not a primary concern for socially-conscious consumers (170).
Rivoli presents two different sides of arguments in regards to how politics influence the life of a t-shirt: from a producer’s standpoint and from a retailer’s standpoint. This is where Rivoli’s argument was the strongest, since she tied many lobbyists, political decisions, and quotas back to market avoidance and how certain policies and political groups fought to protect the textile industry in the US. After reading these chapters, it was apparent that American politics had a central role in managing the textile industry. This allowed the United States to excel in comparison to other countries at the …show more content…
She states that “the primary beneficiaries of the textile and apparel trade regime have been not U.S. workers but the dozens of small developing countries whose textile and apparel industries were effectively created by the MFA” (151). This is true, but there needed to be more evidence as to how much influence does the US have on the other countries. Rivoli recognizes that “while it is no doubt true that broader economic development in these countries would have been a preferable outcome, it is not at all clear that this would have occurred without the MFA” (151). Rivoli cites that the quotas given to countries like Mauritius and Bangladesh indirectly built infrastructure and developed trade related services, however, these could have been built for other reasons such as foreign investments or built by other industries. Perhaps Rivoli could have added information about Bangladesh’s weak governmental structure and status in order to strengthen her argument that strong political backing and policies strengthened the US’ dominance of the textile
Rivoli talked about the harsh working conditions of Chinese factories and sweatshops, noting the shift in management attitude from the Mao Zedong regime to the time period after the revolution. Processing and manufacturing t-shirts was centralized in China and eventually other Asian countries due to their lead in the “race to the bottom” (70-71). Chinese factory workers were compared to mill workers during the Industrial Revolution; these comparisons seemed to suggest that the “race to the bottom” is an eventual consequence of technological advances and free trade, however, Rivoli did a thorough job of explaining the emergence of a new niche market where price is not a primary concern for socially-conscious consumers (170).
Rivoli presents two different sides of arguments in regards to how politics influence the life of a t-shirt: from a producer’s standpoint and from a retailer’s standpoint. This is where Rivoli’s argument was the strongest, since she tied many lobbyists, political decisions, and quotas back to market avoidance and how certain policies and political groups fought to protect the textile industry in the US. After reading these chapters, it was apparent that American politics had a central role in managing the textile industry. This allowed the United States to excel in comparison to other countries at the …show more content…
She states that “the primary beneficiaries of the textile and apparel trade regime have been not U.S. workers but the dozens of small developing countries whose textile and apparel industries were effectively created by the MFA” (151). This is true, but there needed to be more evidence as to how much influence does the US have on the other countries. Rivoli recognizes that “while it is no doubt true that broader economic development in these countries would have been a preferable outcome, it is not at all clear that this would have occurred without the MFA” (151). Rivoli cites that the quotas given to countries like Mauritius and Bangladesh indirectly built infrastructure and developed trade related services, however, these could have been built for other reasons such as foreign investments or built by other industries. Perhaps Rivoli could have added information about Bangladesh’s weak governmental structure and status in order to strengthen her argument that strong political backing and policies strengthened the US’ dominance of the textile