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The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade. New Preface and Epilogue with Updates on Economic Issues and Main Characters
The keys to global business success, as taught by a T-shirt's journey"The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy" is a critically-acclaimed narrative that illuminates the globalization debates and reveals the key factors to success in global business. Tracing a T-shirt's life story from a Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory and back to a U.S. storefront before arriving at the used clothing market in Africa, the book uncovers the political and economic forces at work in the global economy. Along the way, this fascinating exploration addresses a wealth of compelling questions about politics, trade, economics, ethics, and the impact of history on today's business landscape. This new printing of the second edition includes a revised preface and a new epilogue with updates through 2014 on the people, industries, and policies related to the T-shirt's life story.
Using a simple, everyday T-shirt as a lens through which to explore the business, economic, moral, and political complexities of globalization in a historical context, "Travels" encapsulates a number of complex issues into a single identifiable object that will strike a chord with readers as they: Investigate the sources of sustained competitive advantage in different industriesExamine the global economic and political forces that explain trade patters between countriesAnalyze complex moral issues related to globalization and international businessDiscover the importance of cultural and human elements in international trade
This story of a simple product illuminates the many complex issues which businesspeople, policymakers, and global citizens are touched by every day.
Using a simple, everyday T-shirt as a lens through which to explore the business, economic, moral, and political complexities of globalization in a historical context, "Travels" encapsulates a number of complex issues into a single identifiable object that will strike a chord with readers as they: Investigate the sources of sustained competitive advantage in different industriesExamine the global economic and political forces that explain trade patters between countriesAnalyze complex moral issues related to globalization and international businessDiscover the importance of cultural and human elements in international trade
This story of a simple product illuminates the many complex issues which businesspeople, policymakers, and global citizens are touched by every day.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
284 people are currently reading
3023 people want to read
About the author
Pietra Rivoli
5 books15 followersDr. Rivoli received her Ph.D. in finance and international economics from the University of Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 341 reviews
July 7, 2017
Very interesting economics study.
A Georgetown U. economics professor attended a protest demonstration and listened to one of her students speak from a bull horn deriding the plight of third world sweat shop workers. She asked, "Is that true?" and so she spent the better part of three years researching and documenting her studies.
Rivoli describes the history and application of cotton agriculture, trade with China and Southeast Asia and the evolution of the global textile industry. Finally, we learn about the second life market and how discarded western apparel donated to Goodwill and Salvation Army is a billion dollar industry in Africa.
This does not have the personality or quirky appeal of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, but it is chatty, anecdotal and entertaining.
A Georgetown U. economics professor attended a protest demonstration and listened to one of her students speak from a bull horn deriding the plight of third world sweat shop workers. She asked, "Is that true?" and so she spent the better part of three years researching and documenting her studies.
Rivoli describes the history and application of cotton agriculture, trade with China and Southeast Asia and the evolution of the global textile industry. Finally, we learn about the second life market and how discarded western apparel donated to Goodwill and Salvation Army is a billion dollar industry in Africa.
This does not have the personality or quirky appeal of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, but it is chatty, anecdotal and entertaining.
April 20, 2012
(4.5) Surprisingly good, though not surprisingly not much actually about the path of her T-shirt
In-depth investigation of the history and politics of the industries that touch T-shirts: cotton production, processing, apparel manufacturing, shipping, recycling. She traces the history of each of these industries from their birth to today, then picks apart the current trends driving the industries today. Particularly eye-opening were the fights over tariffs and import quotas on apparel...many parties changed sides from a protectionist stance to a free-trade stance and vice versa. But she explains it all quite well so it actually all makes sense.
I was worried this would be like those other journalist-written books where they stitch together 5 articles and fluff it up to 300 pages...especially since the impression I got from the title was that she'd just take us to each of the factories that touched her shirt and give her impressions of what she saw. But turns out she's actually a business school professor, and she really did her homework.
Other tidbits I liked:
* US textile industry lobbied to get customs officers trained to spot illegal socks (this on top of their usual duties of finding weapons etc.)
* Francis Cabot Lowell as industrial espionage, stealing secrets of British power looms and other technological advances to jumpstart the US textile industry and the American industrial revolution
I don't think her style of injecting commentary about feedback from the first edition is the best. It's kind of weird to read a book that's referring to itself. I guess I would've preferred that she just put that in a preface or afterward for the edition. But it wasn't too disruptive.
I was also entertained to hear her mention two economists, Economy and Cline, and (late 18th century physician and) activist Percival (three of us who sit near each other at work have these surnames as well ;) ).
In-depth investigation of the history and politics of the industries that touch T-shirts: cotton production, processing, apparel manufacturing, shipping, recycling. She traces the history of each of these industries from their birth to today, then picks apart the current trends driving the industries today. Particularly eye-opening were the fights over tariffs and import quotas on apparel...many parties changed sides from a protectionist stance to a free-trade stance and vice versa. But she explains it all quite well so it actually all makes sense.
I was worried this would be like those other journalist-written books where they stitch together 5 articles and fluff it up to 300 pages...especially since the impression I got from the title was that she'd just take us to each of the factories that touched her shirt and give her impressions of what she saw. But turns out she's actually a business school professor, and she really did her homework.
Other tidbits I liked:
* US textile industry lobbied to get customs officers trained to spot illegal socks (this on top of their usual duties of finding weapons etc.)
* Francis Cabot Lowell as industrial espionage, stealing secrets of British power looms and other technological advances to jumpstart the US textile industry and the American industrial revolution
I don't think her style of injecting commentary about feedback from the first edition is the best. It's kind of weird to read a book that's referring to itself. I guess I would've preferred that she just put that in a preface or afterward for the edition. But it wasn't too disruptive.
I was also entertained to hear her mention two economists, Economy and Cline, and (late 18th century physician and) activist Percival (three of us who sit near each other at work have these surnames as well ;) ).
November 10, 2011
There is a prologue and a lengthy prologue to the prologue, before we get into the details of Texas cotton farming and being thoroughly educated on the history of cotton farming in the US. That is followed by a very brief chapter about China that focuses on sweatshops, giving the impression that there is nothing else there. Then follows an over-detailed and way too long chapter on trade policies, quotas and politics. At that point I nearly tossed the book, because it was not only painfully boring, but also extremely out-dated. The only part of the book that had some life to it and kept my interest, was the last chapter about the African trade in second hand clothing.
Too long, too much about cotton farming and politics in the US, very little on world trade, too many details and statistics, too many anecdotes about people that I didn't connect with. Very, very out-dated. The book could have done with an update, a revision or even a lengthy additional chapter showing the developments after the actual end of the quota system. A lot has happened since 2005.
Too long, too much about cotton farming and politics in the US, very little on world trade, too many details and statistics, too many anecdotes about people that I didn't connect with. Very, very out-dated. The book could have done with an update, a revision or even a lengthy additional chapter showing the developments after the actual end of the quota system. A lot has happened since 2005.
February 16, 2011
Untuk orang yang sangat awam tentang ekonomi seperti saya, buku ini nyaman dibaca. Isi dari buku ini mengupas tentang Ekonomi Global dan perdagangan bebas.
Metodenya sederhana.
Bercerita tentang perjalanan hidup T-Shirt. Latar belakang pencarian kisah hidup T-Shirt tersebut diawali oleh kegusaran seorang profesor bisnis, Pietra Rivolli,terhadap celotehan aktifis yang menggugat perdagangan bebas. Dari mana dia(aktifis) tau?.
Untuk membuktikan ocehan aktifs itu, si Prof pun menggali asal muasal T-Shirt hingga sampai mana T-Shirt benar-benar habis terpakai.
Jika disederhanakan, alur perjalanan hidup T-Shirt, dimulai dari bentuk Kapas dari Amerika Serikat, dipintal, ditenun dan dijahit menjadi T-Shirt di Cina. Dipasarkan kembali ke AS. Singgah sebentar di lemari pakaian konsumen AS, lalu ditampung, atau dibeli dengan murah oleh salvation army/lembaga sosial yang kemudian disalurkan ke negara miskin, terutama Afrika. Di Afrika, pakaian bekas ini berubah nama menjadi Mitumba.
Jika tak kandas menjadi Mitumba, T-shirt dipotong-potong untuk jadi kain lap, atau dicabik mutilator sampai menjadi shoddy yang berguna untuk pelapis bagian dalam atap mobil, bantalan karpet atau dijalin ulang menjadi benang kualitas rendah, kemudian diolah menjadi selimut murah yang dibagikan kepada para pengungsi.
Masalah yang membuat kapas mengalami perjalanan jauh hingga lintas negara itu adalah tenaga kerja. Meski kekuatan pertanian AS menurut buku ini setara dengan kekuatan Angkatan Bersenjatanya, namun AS tidak mampu memenuhi kebutuhan sandang negaranya sendiri.
Jika Pertanian Kapas AS setelah berevolusi selama 200 tahun dapat dikelola secara mekanis dan membebaskan pertanian dari kejamnya perbudakan atau upah buruh yang rendah maka Industri tekstil adalah industri tetap banyak menyerap tenaga kerja. Dan tenaga kerja yang murah itu, tidak ada di AS, mereka ada di negara-negara dunia ketiga dan penguasanya adalah Cina. Dan siapakah tenaga kerja murah itu?. Mereka adalah perempuan-perempuan desa yang didiskriminasi oleh sistem Hokau pemerintah Cina. Mereka rela bekerja dengan upah rendah, dan resiko keselamatan kerja tinggi dan jaminan kesejahteraan yang nyaris tak ada.
Perempuan tidak merasa buruk dengan ketertindasan itu. Bagi mereka keadaan itu masih lebih baik ketimbang hidup di desa, dimana hidup mereka di kendalikan oleh orang lain. Bekerja di pabrik tekstil, meski tertindas, setidaknya mereka punya pilihan untuk menjadi diri sendiri. Dari memilih pakaian yang disukai hingga pasang hidup yang dicintai. Yuup...sangat berharganya sebuah jati diri...
Fase industri tekstil yang terjadi di Cina, atau negara negara yang mengandalkan tenaga kerja murah adalah fase yang juga pernah dilalui oleh Negara maju seperti AS. Dan sama saja, tetap bertumpu pada kaum perempuan. Alasannya pun sama, rajin, telaten dan mudah dikendalikan.
Ada produksi, ada juga pasar. Keinginan menguasai produksi maupun pasar, keinginan tenaga kerja untuk mendapatkan haknya secara utuh, keinginan konsumen untuk dapat memuaskan kebutuhannya terhadap sandang hingga mode, bermuara dalam politik sebagai alat. Semua kekuatan tarik menarik kepentingan. Siapa yang kuat dialah yang menang.
***
Menurutku Pietra Rivoli ini orang yang putus asa terhadap ide perdagangan bebas. Seperti quote di sampul bukunya "Tak ada yang bebas dalam perdagangan bebas, kecuali slogannya", itulah benang merah setiap bagian dari kisah di buku ini.
Tak ada solusi dibuku ini. Yang ada hanya kisah.
Aku sendiri berhayal, andai nih...Cina atau negara-negara yang saat ini mengobral tenaga kerja murah, sampai pada tahap memberikan hak yang sama seperti apa yang didapat oleh tenaga kerja di negara maju, apa mungkin perjalanan panjang sebuah T-Shirt akan menjadi ringkas?.
Atau mungkinkah suatu saat nanti, urusan sandang dunia_sebagai salah satu kebutuhan pokok ini, dengan kemajuan teknologi yang lebih, kemudian dapat dikelola secara mandiri. Seperti kearifan lokal Cina dimasa lalu, dimana proses dari bahan mentah, serat hingga berubah menjadi pakaian, sepenuhnya dikelola secara mandiri oleh setiap rumah tangganya...
hmm....gimana menurutmu Prof?.
Metodenya sederhana.
Bercerita tentang perjalanan hidup T-Shirt. Latar belakang pencarian kisah hidup T-Shirt tersebut diawali oleh kegusaran seorang profesor bisnis, Pietra Rivolli,terhadap celotehan aktifis yang menggugat perdagangan bebas. Dari mana dia(aktifis) tau?.
Untuk membuktikan ocehan aktifs itu, si Prof pun menggali asal muasal T-Shirt hingga sampai mana T-Shirt benar-benar habis terpakai.
Jika disederhanakan, alur perjalanan hidup T-Shirt, dimulai dari bentuk Kapas dari Amerika Serikat, dipintal, ditenun dan dijahit menjadi T-Shirt di Cina. Dipasarkan kembali ke AS. Singgah sebentar di lemari pakaian konsumen AS, lalu ditampung, atau dibeli dengan murah oleh salvation army/lembaga sosial yang kemudian disalurkan ke negara miskin, terutama Afrika. Di Afrika, pakaian bekas ini berubah nama menjadi Mitumba.
Jika tak kandas menjadi Mitumba, T-shirt dipotong-potong untuk jadi kain lap, atau dicabik mutilator sampai menjadi shoddy yang berguna untuk pelapis bagian dalam atap mobil, bantalan karpet atau dijalin ulang menjadi benang kualitas rendah, kemudian diolah menjadi selimut murah yang dibagikan kepada para pengungsi.
Masalah yang membuat kapas mengalami perjalanan jauh hingga lintas negara itu adalah tenaga kerja. Meski kekuatan pertanian AS menurut buku ini setara dengan kekuatan Angkatan Bersenjatanya, namun AS tidak mampu memenuhi kebutuhan sandang negaranya sendiri.
Jika Pertanian Kapas AS setelah berevolusi selama 200 tahun dapat dikelola secara mekanis dan membebaskan pertanian dari kejamnya perbudakan atau upah buruh yang rendah maka Industri tekstil adalah industri tetap banyak menyerap tenaga kerja. Dan tenaga kerja yang murah itu, tidak ada di AS, mereka ada di negara-negara dunia ketiga dan penguasanya adalah Cina. Dan siapakah tenaga kerja murah itu?. Mereka adalah perempuan-perempuan desa yang didiskriminasi oleh sistem Hokau pemerintah Cina. Mereka rela bekerja dengan upah rendah, dan resiko keselamatan kerja tinggi dan jaminan kesejahteraan yang nyaris tak ada.
Perempuan tidak merasa buruk dengan ketertindasan itu. Bagi mereka keadaan itu masih lebih baik ketimbang hidup di desa, dimana hidup mereka di kendalikan oleh orang lain. Bekerja di pabrik tekstil, meski tertindas, setidaknya mereka punya pilihan untuk menjadi diri sendiri. Dari memilih pakaian yang disukai hingga pasang hidup yang dicintai. Yuup...sangat berharganya sebuah jati diri...
Fase industri tekstil yang terjadi di Cina, atau negara negara yang mengandalkan tenaga kerja murah adalah fase yang juga pernah dilalui oleh Negara maju seperti AS. Dan sama saja, tetap bertumpu pada kaum perempuan. Alasannya pun sama, rajin, telaten dan mudah dikendalikan.
Ada produksi, ada juga pasar. Keinginan menguasai produksi maupun pasar, keinginan tenaga kerja untuk mendapatkan haknya secara utuh, keinginan konsumen untuk dapat memuaskan kebutuhannya terhadap sandang hingga mode, bermuara dalam politik sebagai alat. Semua kekuatan tarik menarik kepentingan. Siapa yang kuat dialah yang menang.
***
Menurutku Pietra Rivoli ini orang yang putus asa terhadap ide perdagangan bebas. Seperti quote di sampul bukunya "Tak ada yang bebas dalam perdagangan bebas, kecuali slogannya", itulah benang merah setiap bagian dari kisah di buku ini.
Tak ada solusi dibuku ini. Yang ada hanya kisah.
Aku sendiri berhayal, andai nih...Cina atau negara-negara yang saat ini mengobral tenaga kerja murah, sampai pada tahap memberikan hak yang sama seperti apa yang didapat oleh tenaga kerja di negara maju, apa mungkin perjalanan panjang sebuah T-Shirt akan menjadi ringkas?.
Atau mungkinkah suatu saat nanti, urusan sandang dunia_sebagai salah satu kebutuhan pokok ini, dengan kemajuan teknologi yang lebih, kemudian dapat dikelola secara mandiri. Seperti kearifan lokal Cina dimasa lalu, dimana proses dari bahan mentah, serat hingga berubah menjadi pakaian, sepenuhnya dikelola secara mandiri oleh setiap rumah tangganya...
hmm....gimana menurutmu Prof?.
October 25, 2016
Very interesting book! Highly recommended for those in Textile industry, readers interested in global trade and economics or in general a curious soul like me.
Things I did not know before reading the book -
1. Agriculture (subsidies and technological revolutions in the seeds and farming area)
2. Textile production ( Economies of scale in China and US south, social structures deciding workforce, and human rights)
3. Voter blocks, lobbyist, politics of quota and relations between countries that drive import and export .
4. Mitumba: Resale of used clothes in east African countries- social and economical pros and cons
5. NAFTA, TPP and other trade agreements.
Book is written like a story and keeps you engrossed. Special thanks to the author for writing epilogue to add commentary on recent events.
Things I did not know before reading the book -
1. Agriculture (subsidies and technological revolutions in the seeds and farming area)
2. Textile production ( Economies of scale in China and US south, social structures deciding workforce, and human rights)
3. Voter blocks, lobbyist, politics of quota and relations between countries that drive import and export .
4. Mitumba: Resale of used clothes in east African countries- social and economical pros and cons
5. NAFTA, TPP and other trade agreements.
Book is written like a story and keeps you engrossed. Special thanks to the author for writing epilogue to add commentary on recent events.
April 18, 2025
I do not like this book
June 2, 2013
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything asks clever questions and explores them in clever ways. It's a fun read. But if you're going to read just one popularized economics book this year, I recommend
The Travels of a T-Shirt.
It breaks the major rule of economics-qua-science: it is an extended anecdote with frequent detours into cultural history and popular biography. As my scientist friends like to remind me, and as Rivoli herself is at pains to point out, the plural of anecdote is not data. To which I reply: that is why I am not a scientist. I really do believe you when you say that anecdotal evidence can create a profoundly skewed picture of how a system works, and that respectable analysis requires a broader view. But I'm never going to be the one who does that analysis, and if you want me to get some purchase on what you're talking about, you'd better tell me a story.
Rivoli spins a fascinating yarn about the spinning of yarn, from the growth of the cotton in Texas to the manufacture of the t-shirt in China (with possible detours to one or more smaller Asian countries in order to get around U.S. import quotas) to its afterlife as a "vintage" collectible, or a part of someone's wardrobe in Tanzania, or maybe a component of your car's roof. My favorite part was the description of the amazingly efficient global trade in the cast-off clothing of consumptive Americans.
The book deftly describes some of the ridiculous contortions trade policy undergoes in response to political pressures. She recognizes the good that activism has done in pressing improvements on the working conditions of the poor, while cautioning the activists against wholesale uncritical condemnation of free markets. The story, or stories -- you have to go back through the whole history of industrialization to make sense of How We Got Here -- she tells give conceptual pegs on which to hang a basic grasp of the issues at stake in the fraught conflicts about economic globalization. I feel better equipped to understand the news about the WTO or bilateral trade negotiations -- maybe not in depth, but less bewildered by the polar absolutist pronouncements of free-marketers and hard core protectionists.
I wish she had gone into more depth about the place of international shipping in all this activity. It does get a brief treatment near the end of the story, but I'm still unsure about what to think about the costs, both financial and environmental, of shipping cheap cotton goods two and a half times around the world to maximize profit and opportunity. It makes me a little queasy to think about all the fuel that I assume gets burned to get me my cheap dollar store socks. If the cost of oil continues to skyrocket (a not unreasonable expectation, from what little knowledge on the subject I have), will it eventually hamstring the seemingly inevitable forward march of globalization? Or can we count on the magic of the market to motivate some inventive souls to come up with sustainable ways to move super freighters?
The other thing I wished for more information on was a passing comment in the conclusion of the book: "For centuries, trade was a subject of moral and religious debate rather than economic analysis ... Indeed, in perusing the early Christians' debates over trade, I’m struck by the complete absence of economic discussion..." WAIT! I demanded. GO BACK! What early Christian debates are you talking about? I want to read them!!
(I should check out the print edition to see if it has footnotes -- but not likely. Maybe I'll just have to write to the author.)
Rivoli spins a fascinating yarn about the spinning of yarn, from the growth of the cotton in Texas to the manufacture of the t-shirt in China (with possible detours to one or more smaller Asian countries in order to get around U.S. import quotas) to its afterlife as a "vintage" collectible, or a part of someone's wardrobe in Tanzania, or maybe a component of your car's roof. My favorite part was the description of the amazingly efficient global trade in the cast-off clothing of consumptive Americans.
The book deftly describes some of the ridiculous contortions trade policy undergoes in response to political pressures. She recognizes the good that activism has done in pressing improvements on the working conditions of the poor, while cautioning the activists against wholesale uncritical condemnation of free markets. The story, or stories -- you have to go back through the whole history of industrialization to make sense of How We Got Here -- she tells give conceptual pegs on which to hang a basic grasp of the issues at stake in the fraught conflicts about economic globalization. I feel better equipped to understand the news about the WTO or bilateral trade negotiations -- maybe not in depth, but less bewildered by the polar absolutist pronouncements of free-marketers and hard core protectionists.
I wish she had gone into more depth about the place of international shipping in all this activity. It does get a brief treatment near the end of the story, but I'm still unsure about what to think about the costs, both financial and environmental, of shipping cheap cotton goods two and a half times around the world to maximize profit and opportunity. It makes me a little queasy to think about all the fuel that I assume gets burned to get me my cheap dollar store socks. If the cost of oil continues to skyrocket (a not unreasonable expectation, from what little knowledge on the subject I have), will it eventually hamstring the seemingly inevitable forward march of globalization? Or can we count on the magic of the market to motivate some inventive souls to come up with sustainable ways to move super freighters?
The other thing I wished for more information on was a passing comment in the conclusion of the book: "For centuries, trade was a subject of moral and religious debate rather than economic analysis ... Indeed, in perusing the early Christians' debates over trade, I’m struck by the complete absence of economic discussion..." WAIT! I demanded. GO BACK! What early Christian debates are you talking about? I want to read them!!
(I should check out the print edition to see if it has footnotes -- but not likely. Maybe I'll just have to write to the author.)
April 26, 2011
Pietra Rivoli bought a souvenir T-shirt, and then she wrote a book about it. Inspired to explore the lowly T-shirt by an anti-WTO rally, she determined to look at the issues related to cotton farming, to clothing manufacture, and ultimately to the used-clothing trade.
If there is one message in this book, it is that free trade in the world of cotton is myth. With one exception, that is. More about that later.
First Rivoli traces the story of cotton as a critical commodity. The preeminence of the US as a producer of cotton was tied to the nefarious slave economy, but it was research and technology that led to the productive and dominant farm business that it is today. That and a whole lot of government support — up to 19 cents on a 59-cent pound of cotton. It’s very difficult for other countries to compete.
Then there’s the matter of producing the T-shirt. We tend to believe that China has a grip on the market, but China is also losing textile jobs. Some place with a cheaper work force (read: female, young, desperate) will always be in the wings. The only way to save such jobs long term is protectionism, which is alive and well in the US — and costing taxpayers $135,000-$180,000 per job saved. The book introduced a mind-numbing litany of trade associations, lobbying groups, and trade agreements, each with its own acronym (AGOA, NAFTA, CBTPA, ADTPA, ATC, MFA, ACMI, LTA, ATMI, ITCB).
Finally Rivoli found her free trade: in the used clothing business. People donate to the Salvation Army or Vietnam Veterans. Skilled sorters in the US find the garments worthy of the second-hand market at home. Rejects are bundled and sold in bulk, bound for market stalls in Tanzania. Market shoppers are savvy about which T-shirts are best for the fashions of their city, and they haggle to take them home. No subsidies, no government support, and it all works.
An excellent and readable book about the complexities of world trade.
If there is one message in this book, it is that free trade in the world of cotton is myth. With one exception, that is. More about that later.
First Rivoli traces the story of cotton as a critical commodity. The preeminence of the US as a producer of cotton was tied to the nefarious slave economy, but it was research and technology that led to the productive and dominant farm business that it is today. That and a whole lot of government support — up to 19 cents on a 59-cent pound of cotton. It’s very difficult for other countries to compete.
Then there’s the matter of producing the T-shirt. We tend to believe that China has a grip on the market, but China is also losing textile jobs. Some place with a cheaper work force (read: female, young, desperate) will always be in the wings. The only way to save such jobs long term is protectionism, which is alive and well in the US — and costing taxpayers $135,000-$180,000 per job saved. The book introduced a mind-numbing litany of trade associations, lobbying groups, and trade agreements, each with its own acronym (AGOA, NAFTA, CBTPA, ADTPA, ATC, MFA, ACMI, LTA, ATMI, ITCB).
Finally Rivoli found her free trade: in the used clothing business. People donate to the Salvation Army or Vietnam Veterans. Skilled sorters in the US find the garments worthy of the second-hand market at home. Rejects are bundled and sold in bulk, bound for market stalls in Tanzania. Market shoppers are savvy about which T-shirts are best for the fashions of their city, and they haggle to take them home. No subsidies, no government support, and it all works.
An excellent and readable book about the complexities of world trade.
July 3, 2007
This is long, carefully researched and well written book about the history, geography, culture, politics and trade in cotton and cotton textiles in particular and trade in general. The author gives an excellent overview of how politics, culture and money interact to create complex trade policies in US and around the world. Although a cotton T-shirt is the last thing you would expect governments and interest groups to fight over, it is surprising to find the number of lives it affects. It is fascinating to know how difficult it is to grow cotton; and how the US (a proponent of capitalism and free trade) has some of the most restrictive trade barriers in order to favor a particularly small constituency of voters. The fact that a T-shirt can serve not only as an item of clothing but also as a developmental aid for poor economies, a status symbol for the wearer; and a means of livelihood for thousands of people, points to the complexities of globalization and trade. The author does a good job of presenting the facts and history behind some issues, but does not give a very strong personal opinion about the whole thing. It is a must read for someone interested in economics, trade, globalization as well as human rights.
September 18, 2012
There has been a lot written recently in blogs and traditional media about the environmental impact of a cotton T-Shirt. This book is the granddaddy of all of them.
In a well-written and succinct book, Prof. Rivoli tells us about how this most ubiquitous item of western attire is created, used, and disposed of - once, twice, and maybe a third time. Using both objective facts and personal anecdotes, this book is both educational and enjoyable.
Although I read it a little while back and the book itself is only five years old, a cursory glance at current articles about "the lifecycle of a t-shirt" were long on clever facts and graphics and short on attribution to this engaging, but seminal work. (Okay, maybe most people would not call it "seminal", but it was an early attempt to bring the impact of the lowly tee shirt to our attention.)
i think it is an excellent book for the curious of any stripe.
In a well-written and succinct book, Prof. Rivoli tells us about how this most ubiquitous item of western attire is created, used, and disposed of - once, twice, and maybe a third time. Using both objective facts and personal anecdotes, this book is both educational and enjoyable.
Although I read it a little while back and the book itself is only five years old, a cursory glance at current articles about "the lifecycle of a t-shirt" were long on clever facts and graphics and short on attribution to this engaging, but seminal work. (Okay, maybe most people would not call it "seminal", but it was an early attempt to bring the impact of the lowly tee shirt to our attention.)
i think it is an excellent book for the curious of any stripe.
March 17, 2013
What a superb book. Whether you’re a free trade supporter, a staunch protectionist, or a fierce labor activist you need to read this book! This is hands down the most unbiased book I have ever read from the perspective that all sides of the debate are tdiscussed or addressed. And whatever your beliefs are, I guarantee that you will find something in this book that will cause you to stop, and possibly re-think or tweak some of your own ideals.
The book is well-written, immensely informative and tremendously humorous. The author, Pietra Rivoli, takes you through the journey of how one of her t-shirts got to America. From the cotton fields of Texas, the to manufacturing plants of China, through the complex web of trade rules and regulations, and to its final resting place in Africa. It is truly an amazing journey and one of the best books I’ve read.
This is not your typical econmics book and it is a must read!
The book is well-written, immensely informative and tremendously humorous. The author, Pietra Rivoli, takes you through the journey of how one of her t-shirts got to America. From the cotton fields of Texas, the to manufacturing plants of China, through the complex web of trade rules and regulations, and to its final resting place in Africa. It is truly an amazing journey and one of the best books I’ve read.
This is not your typical econmics book and it is a must read!
July 24, 2019
This book is extremely racist and imperialist. I read it, way back when, in a class on outsourcing/sweatshops/globalization and knew, even as an impressionable 16 yo, that it was a hot pile of garbage. Frankly stunned at others calling it “revelatory” and “educational.”
December 17, 2020
This book combines research with anecdote to show what occurs in the life of a t-shit from various perspectives. From the different sides of labor negotiations to the different sides of international trade negotiations, Rivoli does a wonderful job at expressing the complexity and the intention of each perspective. Each different perspective shapes the way the t-shirt lives in the economy. Rather than having nefarious reasons, the actors from each perspective respond to the global economy.
Dominance in any world market is tenuous. Industries tend to shift their comparative advantages. Growing cotton seems strange in an advanced economy with high labor costs producing a product that is very homogenous, has intense price competition, and low barriers to entry and yet the U.S. has held dominance in growing cotton for about two centuries. Due to climatic reason for growing cotton, the U.S. is competing with poor African countries who claim that U.S. subsidies violate global trade rules and impoverish African industry.
Subsidies are beneficial to the U.S. cotton industry but U.S. dominance cannot credit everything to subsidies. Subsidies entered the U.S. cotton industry after the industry gained dominance. The people in the U.S. industry have been very creative in figuring out how to enable more efficient cotton production, and has been very responsive to economic shifts. The subsidies do ensure that the farmers have a set minimum income for a year. Many times, the American farms earn more than other countries farmers normally, while still getting a boost from the subsidies. There was a lot of outrage against the cotton subsidies, but they remained intact as the politicians packaged the cotton subsidies with many other beneficiaries to ensure that it had few opponents. Countries whose farmers were hurt by the subsidies do not dislike the American subsidies as much as they want their own government subsidies and protections.
Cotton is extremely susceptible to being damaged by various environmental aspects and risks of various pests taking cotton. Labor for cotton production is temporary making it hard to obtain when needed for production. As cotton is very fragile, cotton prices are very volatile which incur many business risks. For each risk and uncertainty, the cotton industry developed methods to avoid them by either facing them communally or moving production outside the market.
As cotton required labor at uncertain times sporadically, drove cotton production to initially use slavery. To use slaves in the production required developing systems of control, monitoring, and incentives to induce slaves to perform repetitive and exhaustive physical labor. Many unethical practices in the cotton industry stem from the industry’s avoiding and suppressing markets. Other countries with cotton industries which had a large labor force could not increase their production readily because they lacked capitalistic incentives which reward improvement. After slavery ended, the system of sharecropping set root. But sharecropping, rather than providing an incentive to improve, held the farmers back. Alternative farmers started to mechanize their cotton production which yielded more cotton and did not need as much labor. Technology improved the efficiency and efficacy of cotton production. Technology had become more environmentally friendly by being more fuel efficient than before.
Growing cotton now takes more chemicals which is in part alarming and in part beneficial. Chemicals that kill weeds also harm cotton, but cotton became genetically modified to resist the particular chemical. The fear is that chemical resistant weeds will reproduce and create a bigger problem as the offspring will be resistant to the chemical, requiring different chemicals. The chemicals used to kill pest require more chemicals to kill the secondary pests which the initial pests kept under control. The chemicals being used now are far more environmentally friendly than before. Overall, there seems to be much less chemical use than before due to genetically modified cotton. Another problem with the genetic modification and chemicals are the fact that they are owned by Monsanto. Farmers and Monsanto benefit from the relationship, but Monsanto seems to hold concentrated property rights which harm those who do not want to use their products.
Cotton production used to create a lot of waste, but now, the waste is used in other products such as food. The waste sold improves the profitability of the farm. With more efficient cotton sorting mechanism, American cotton has an expected quality while there is a quality risk of other countries cotton. Although farmers have become increasingly solitary due to technology, they have started to ban together politically. Rather than selling their cotton individually and being forced to take a price for their cotton, they have made marketing pools which stores the cotton until the market price is right, at which point the cotton is sold and the farmers get their share. The risk-sharing agreement prevent major losses or gains to any farmer.
In China, where t-shirts tended to be put together have been mechanizing, but some part of production are difficult to mechanize. The sewing stage of the t-shirt is difficult to mechanize and is the preeminent example of sweatshops. Sewing was primarily done by women because their labor was cheaper and their dependents made them more willing to accept the work. Docility and energy were needed in the production, and China’s engineered system of laws produced the workers needed for the labor. Many women now choose sweatshops because it is a better alternative to working on the farm. The factory work provides more autonomy and economic independence.
Many consumers want the products being purchased to be produced with favorable labor practices. Many times in history have corporations and businesses resisted changing their labor practices, but over time, labor practices do change. Many large purchasers have banned together to force corporations to look into improving labor practices, because corporations want to keep their profits. It is in countries with functioning markets in which corporations listen and adjust to what consumers want.
In the production of the t-shirt, central planning loses to capitalistic markets. Central planning ignores incentives to change to markets, does not improve facilities, and crush intelligence. Global trade reduced pollution in production while producing more. Open market countries facilitated clean technologies and adoption of clean technologies in other countries. In globalized production, companies adopt heavier environmental regulations so as to be able to sell to more countries. Market competition creates demand for environmental protection.
The U.S. t-shirt industry influenced politics to limit trade. They are avoiding competition by writing the rules. Presidents and other politicians please the industry in order to get reelected while also trying not to limit the imports from other countries. An outcome of this was as very complicated quota system. A system that was rife with speculation and manipulation. Many policies which were meant to be temporary, either resisted being removed or took a long time to be removed.
The last journey in the life of a t-shirt is how it is recycled. Most t-shirts in the U.S. are donated. The shirts go through sorting company which sells the cloths to those who have need for the particular type of t-shirt or the material that the t-shirt is made out of. Some donated t-shirts can sell for a lot, while others will go on to be rags.
The t-shit is a global product. The actors in its production are bound together. Tying diverse international relationships which otherwise might not have occurred. Some actors retain their competitive edge for a while due to legal, cultural, and innovative means, while other vie the market for their income. The industries which have adapted to the changes have survived and rose to meet demands, while those who resisted adaptation to new circumstance lost preeminence. Rivoli provides a detailed and complex view of the markets in the t-shirt production. Not glorifying or vilifying markets as the industry has many political reactions and implications. Globalized markets with humans writing and changing the rules every day.
Dominance in any world market is tenuous. Industries tend to shift their comparative advantages. Growing cotton seems strange in an advanced economy with high labor costs producing a product that is very homogenous, has intense price competition, and low barriers to entry and yet the U.S. has held dominance in growing cotton for about two centuries. Due to climatic reason for growing cotton, the U.S. is competing with poor African countries who claim that U.S. subsidies violate global trade rules and impoverish African industry.
Subsidies are beneficial to the U.S. cotton industry but U.S. dominance cannot credit everything to subsidies. Subsidies entered the U.S. cotton industry after the industry gained dominance. The people in the U.S. industry have been very creative in figuring out how to enable more efficient cotton production, and has been very responsive to economic shifts. The subsidies do ensure that the farmers have a set minimum income for a year. Many times, the American farms earn more than other countries farmers normally, while still getting a boost from the subsidies. There was a lot of outrage against the cotton subsidies, but they remained intact as the politicians packaged the cotton subsidies with many other beneficiaries to ensure that it had few opponents. Countries whose farmers were hurt by the subsidies do not dislike the American subsidies as much as they want their own government subsidies and protections.
Cotton is extremely susceptible to being damaged by various environmental aspects and risks of various pests taking cotton. Labor for cotton production is temporary making it hard to obtain when needed for production. As cotton is very fragile, cotton prices are very volatile which incur many business risks. For each risk and uncertainty, the cotton industry developed methods to avoid them by either facing them communally or moving production outside the market.
As cotton required labor at uncertain times sporadically, drove cotton production to initially use slavery. To use slaves in the production required developing systems of control, monitoring, and incentives to induce slaves to perform repetitive and exhaustive physical labor. Many unethical practices in the cotton industry stem from the industry’s avoiding and suppressing markets. Other countries with cotton industries which had a large labor force could not increase their production readily because they lacked capitalistic incentives which reward improvement. After slavery ended, the system of sharecropping set root. But sharecropping, rather than providing an incentive to improve, held the farmers back. Alternative farmers started to mechanize their cotton production which yielded more cotton and did not need as much labor. Technology improved the efficiency and efficacy of cotton production. Technology had become more environmentally friendly by being more fuel efficient than before.
Growing cotton now takes more chemicals which is in part alarming and in part beneficial. Chemicals that kill weeds also harm cotton, but cotton became genetically modified to resist the particular chemical. The fear is that chemical resistant weeds will reproduce and create a bigger problem as the offspring will be resistant to the chemical, requiring different chemicals. The chemicals used to kill pest require more chemicals to kill the secondary pests which the initial pests kept under control. The chemicals being used now are far more environmentally friendly than before. Overall, there seems to be much less chemical use than before due to genetically modified cotton. Another problem with the genetic modification and chemicals are the fact that they are owned by Monsanto. Farmers and Monsanto benefit from the relationship, but Monsanto seems to hold concentrated property rights which harm those who do not want to use their products.
Cotton production used to create a lot of waste, but now, the waste is used in other products such as food. The waste sold improves the profitability of the farm. With more efficient cotton sorting mechanism, American cotton has an expected quality while there is a quality risk of other countries cotton. Although farmers have become increasingly solitary due to technology, they have started to ban together politically. Rather than selling their cotton individually and being forced to take a price for their cotton, they have made marketing pools which stores the cotton until the market price is right, at which point the cotton is sold and the farmers get their share. The risk-sharing agreement prevent major losses or gains to any farmer.
In China, where t-shirts tended to be put together have been mechanizing, but some part of production are difficult to mechanize. The sewing stage of the t-shirt is difficult to mechanize and is the preeminent example of sweatshops. Sewing was primarily done by women because their labor was cheaper and their dependents made them more willing to accept the work. Docility and energy were needed in the production, and China’s engineered system of laws produced the workers needed for the labor. Many women now choose sweatshops because it is a better alternative to working on the farm. The factory work provides more autonomy and economic independence.
Many consumers want the products being purchased to be produced with favorable labor practices. Many times in history have corporations and businesses resisted changing their labor practices, but over time, labor practices do change. Many large purchasers have banned together to force corporations to look into improving labor practices, because corporations want to keep their profits. It is in countries with functioning markets in which corporations listen and adjust to what consumers want.
In the production of the t-shirt, central planning loses to capitalistic markets. Central planning ignores incentives to change to markets, does not improve facilities, and crush intelligence. Global trade reduced pollution in production while producing more. Open market countries facilitated clean technologies and adoption of clean technologies in other countries. In globalized production, companies adopt heavier environmental regulations so as to be able to sell to more countries. Market competition creates demand for environmental protection.
The U.S. t-shirt industry influenced politics to limit trade. They are avoiding competition by writing the rules. Presidents and other politicians please the industry in order to get reelected while also trying not to limit the imports from other countries. An outcome of this was as very complicated quota system. A system that was rife with speculation and manipulation. Many policies which were meant to be temporary, either resisted being removed or took a long time to be removed.
The last journey in the life of a t-shirt is how it is recycled. Most t-shirts in the U.S. are donated. The shirts go through sorting company which sells the cloths to those who have need for the particular type of t-shirt or the material that the t-shirt is made out of. Some donated t-shirts can sell for a lot, while others will go on to be rags.
The t-shit is a global product. The actors in its production are bound together. Tying diverse international relationships which otherwise might not have occurred. Some actors retain their competitive edge for a while due to legal, cultural, and innovative means, while other vie the market for their income. The industries which have adapted to the changes have survived and rose to meet demands, while those who resisted adaptation to new circumstance lost preeminence. Rivoli provides a detailed and complex view of the markets in the t-shirt production. Not glorifying or vilifying markets as the industry has many political reactions and implications. Globalized markets with humans writing and changing the rules every day.
November 30, 2018
Incredible education on globalism, free markets, protectionism, textiles and cotton.
April 23, 2025
PLEASE stop using myriad as an adjective that word is a NOUN
February 25, 2013
This book shows you a bit of the lives of several people along the supply chain and trade routes of T-shirts, including American cotton farmers, Chinese factory girls, trade lobby etc. This is the main contribution of the book and probably also what makes it appealing to many people. However, I found many of the points made quite obvious. American cotton farmers compete based on technology, machinery and generous subsidies, Chinese textile manufacturers on low wages...
Another weakness of the book is in the discussion of the latter point: It is too simplistic. Chinese manufacturing has benefited a lot from low-cost labour, but that's not all. Good infrastructure, efficient supply chains, technology adoption etc also contribute significantly to Chinese competitiveness. Other countries (that the author doesn't even look at) have much lower wages than China, but are only very gradually becoming more competitive. It's not all about wages, as the author seems to believe. Nor is China all about low wages and transition from socialism to market economy.
The book also doesn't provide an in-depth analysis on some issues that should be central. The race to the bottom for example. No clear definition is provided. Instead, whenever there is some international competition or the industry moves from one country to another, the author calls it race to the bottom, including anything between the first real textile industry in Britain to China's domination of the industry. However, the accounts she collected don't support the idea that Chinese workers have been any worse off than American workers 200 years ago - they actually show the opposite. Why then call it race to the bottom?
Another weakness of the book is in the discussion of the latter point: It is too simplistic. Chinese manufacturing has benefited a lot from low-cost labour, but that's not all. Good infrastructure, efficient supply chains, technology adoption etc also contribute significantly to Chinese competitiveness. Other countries (that the author doesn't even look at) have much lower wages than China, but are only very gradually becoming more competitive. It's not all about wages, as the author seems to believe. Nor is China all about low wages and transition from socialism to market economy.
The book also doesn't provide an in-depth analysis on some issues that should be central. The race to the bottom for example. No clear definition is provided. Instead, whenever there is some international competition or the industry moves from one country to another, the author calls it race to the bottom, including anything between the first real textile industry in Britain to China's domination of the industry. However, the accounts she collected don't support the idea that Chinese workers have been any worse off than American workers 200 years ago - they actually show the opposite. Why then call it race to the bottom?
September 26, 2015
It was wonderful to read the book and get so much insight into how the global trade works. Though the book is all about the cotton and apparel industry, it can be applicable to any industry in this world of globalization. It throws a lot of light on how politics affect the global trade.
Another interesting aspect which the book dealt with so nicely was that it is not the globalization which hampers the local economies, but it is the political reaction, political response and political involvement in the global trade which creates a lot of confusion and distress for a local economy. The book shows that quota and restrictions not only decelerates growth of any economy, they also impede the movement of people to economic freedom.
There are a lot of critics out there who are against global trade and who fear that the unleash of cheap goods from one economy to another economy will hurt local economy. But as the book shows with a lot data that this is a very simplistic approach to understand how globalization impacts people, Industry and world economy and may be a wrong perspective to look at the phenomena of global trade.
The book took a long time for me to complete. But the time spent on this book was worth every second in understanding the idea being put forward by the author Dr. Pietra Rivoli.
A book highly recommended.
Another interesting aspect which the book dealt with so nicely was that it is not the globalization which hampers the local economies, but it is the political reaction, political response and political involvement in the global trade which creates a lot of confusion and distress for a local economy. The book shows that quota and restrictions not only decelerates growth of any economy, they also impede the movement of people to economic freedom.
There are a lot of critics out there who are against global trade and who fear that the unleash of cheap goods from one economy to another economy will hurt local economy. But as the book shows with a lot data that this is a very simplistic approach to understand how globalization impacts people, Industry and world economy and may be a wrong perspective to look at the phenomena of global trade.
The book took a long time for me to complete. But the time spent on this book was worth every second in understanding the idea being put forward by the author Dr. Pietra Rivoli.
A book highly recommended.
April 9, 2009
An economist follows the life of her t-shirt in painful detail. Rivoli starts in the cotton fields of Texas and ends up in Tanzania in the rag and second-hand clothing market. She spends plenty of time in Asia along the way, specifically China, and shares a somewhat dispassionate assessment of sweat shops.
Rivoli spends way too much time talking about the textile lobby in the United States. Throughout, she presents her analysis in a narrative form, and therefore focuses on specific characters and companies to illustrate more comprehensive principles. Her touchstone for the textile lobby is Auggie Tantillo, who led some acronym-laden clothing collective. Rivoli referred to them at least 500 times as "Auggie Tantillo and his alphabet army." I got sick of it very quickly and nearly quit reading on its account. If I ever meet Dr. Rivoli, I will kick dirt on her shoes the way an angry baseball manager would to an erring umpire.
Rivoli finds an interesting balance between activists and exploitative corporations; both are needed to make markets work in an "acceptable" manner. She also does a nice job of separating political machinations from true economic principles and highlighting how complicated global trade really is.
Rivoli spends way too much time talking about the textile lobby in the United States. Throughout, she presents her analysis in a narrative form, and therefore focuses on specific characters and companies to illustrate more comprehensive principles. Her touchstone for the textile lobby is Auggie Tantillo, who led some acronym-laden clothing collective. Rivoli referred to them at least 500 times as "Auggie Tantillo and his alphabet army." I got sick of it very quickly and nearly quit reading on its account. If I ever meet Dr. Rivoli, I will kick dirt on her shoes the way an angry baseball manager would to an erring umpire.
Rivoli finds an interesting balance between activists and exploitative corporations; both are needed to make markets work in an "acceptable" manner. She also does a nice job of separating political machinations from true economic principles and highlighting how complicated global trade really is.
January 7, 2013
An even-handed look at globalization. My views on protectionism and off-shoring were, to say the least, uninformed prior to reading this book. Now, through the lens of this industry, I can see more of the complexity of interaction between the workers, the government regulation, business, and the customers. I highly recommend this book to everyone. The only weakness is also the book's strength, that is, the author's coverage of the topic is so thorough that it becomes tedious in spots.
January 6, 2011
This book was a very slow read to me, but I guess if you're into that stuff you'll be ok
December 30, 2010
Thought it'd give more insight into the economics of globalism, but ended up with more knowledge about cotton production than I ever really cared to know about.
April 20, 2020
A few years ago, about the same time I started to hear grumblings over the injustice of sweatshops, I happened across Christopher Blattman's work on the centrality of sweatshops to economic and social development. I read a bit on the issue, but ultimately understood both sides and deemed the answers too complex and moved on. I am sooo glad I read this book because it did so much to answer those festering questions and many more!
Rivoli writes this shirt about a t-shirt she bought (the most average one imaginable), and the enormous journey it made into her hands. The entire book was sort of an anecdote for global trade as a whole. I thought the book was informative, thought provoking, and very well balanced. It began with the history of cotton farming in the US, which ultimately explained why so much of the world's cotton is still sourced from Texas. Then it traveled with the cotton to China's sweatshops, but not without surveying this history of low cost labor and investigating the trends that tend to repeat. The shirt then is exported back to the US, which involved a conversation on trade legislation and the political balance between free-trade and protecting domestic industry (theres textile workers in the US you know). Finally, after the t-shirt is bought and worn, it is usually given away, winding up in the hands of a company that sells it at a low price to small business owners in Africa, who then resell the t-shirt.
Rivoli made this entire process much more interesting than it sounds, and she did so well to build themes that ran the course of the book - activism vs market forces, globalization vs protectionism, the dignity of the poor, political leverage, the nature of work in a persons life as a whole, etc.
I have two very minor negative comments on this book. First, the 50 page section on trade legislation in the US, while important, was insufferably boring. It took me longer to read those three chapters than the rest of the book combined. Second, I wish she followed the t-shirts life through its ultimate disposal. I get why that may have been hard, but "and then an African buys it in a street market" seemed sort of like an incomplete ending to the t-shirts story.
As a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Yes, the content was interesting and informative, but what truly made this book was Rivoli's writing style and well-developed and justified opinions. She balanced technical, historical, and narrative writing very well. More importantly (to me), she did not carelessly write off any party in the political debate over global trade, but she took a nuanced neutral stance that acknowledged the validity of both sides, and the necessity that they both exist. She highlighted the situation we would be in if either the capitalists or the activists entirely prevailed and leaves the reader (myself) quite convinced that both sides ought to continue to exist and fight for their way.
Rivoli writes this shirt about a t-shirt she bought (the most average one imaginable), and the enormous journey it made into her hands. The entire book was sort of an anecdote for global trade as a whole. I thought the book was informative, thought provoking, and very well balanced. It began with the history of cotton farming in the US, which ultimately explained why so much of the world's cotton is still sourced from Texas. Then it traveled with the cotton to China's sweatshops, but not without surveying this history of low cost labor and investigating the trends that tend to repeat. The shirt then is exported back to the US, which involved a conversation on trade legislation and the political balance between free-trade and protecting domestic industry (theres textile workers in the US you know). Finally, after the t-shirt is bought and worn, it is usually given away, winding up in the hands of a company that sells it at a low price to small business owners in Africa, who then resell the t-shirt.
Rivoli made this entire process much more interesting than it sounds, and she did so well to build themes that ran the course of the book - activism vs market forces, globalization vs protectionism, the dignity of the poor, political leverage, the nature of work in a persons life as a whole, etc.
I have two very minor negative comments on this book. First, the 50 page section on trade legislation in the US, while important, was insufferably boring. It took me longer to read those three chapters than the rest of the book combined. Second, I wish she followed the t-shirts life through its ultimate disposal. I get why that may have been hard, but "and then an African buys it in a street market" seemed sort of like an incomplete ending to the t-shirts story.
As a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Yes, the content was interesting and informative, but what truly made this book was Rivoli's writing style and well-developed and justified opinions. She balanced technical, historical, and narrative writing very well. More importantly (to me), she did not carelessly write off any party in the political debate over global trade, but she took a nuanced neutral stance that acknowledged the validity of both sides, and the necessity that they both exist. She highlighted the situation we would be in if either the capitalists or the activists entirely prevailed and leaves the reader (myself) quite convinced that both sides ought to continue to exist and fight for their way.
August 9, 2019
Detailed, in-depth review of t-shirt trade. Four sections:
1. Cotton
2. Manufacturing
3. Tariffs / quotas (politics)
4. Recycling
All very insightful. Here were my main takeaways:
1. Free trade and globalization are actually beneficial to the environment. Rich countries demand better, cleaner products and set higher standards. International manufacturers want to meet those standards, so they implement the most strict standards in their production.
2. Production of clothing is not actually the most damaging to the environment. Instead, it's how we maintain it - using dryer and hot water to wash is much more damaging environmentally
3. China's hukou system has helped to maintain its position as a leader in textile manufacturing. While other countries grow out of the industry, China hasn't as much because the hukou system allows them to keep wages low for migrant workers, and labor conditions poor
4. USA produces a shit load of cotton every year. Partially because of subsidies, but also because of technological advances. Poor countries have labor cost advantage, but that actually prevents them from innovating, which makes their yields constant rather than increasing like in the US
5. Industrial revolution in UK was triggered by developments in the textiles industry. These developments increased productivity, thereby lowering prices, and allowing poor people to dress attractively, giving birth to a consumer class
6. The textile lobby in the US has considerable influence because of its geographic connectivity (concentrated in the south) and deep bonds (mostly family businesses that go back generations together). As a result, they've been able to secure lots of benefits from politicians over the years, more successfully than most other interest groups.
7. Per the US constitution, trade policy is the responsibility of congress. However, Congress's best interests is to be protectionist, as they are subject to local elections every few years. Therefore, congress setting trade policy will be inherently protectionist
8. Recycled clothing mostly goes to Africa. I used to go to markets in Rwanda and wonder where all the clothes came from. This makes sense. Typically filtered in the US first, then sold for pennies per pound. Once it gets to Tanzania, it goes to the markets. The best products accounts for 90% of the profits
9. Giving these clothes to Africans is often criticizes as preventing their economies from growing (my problem with Tom's). Author argues against that though, saying that this process creates different and more jobs (hustlers at the markets and ports).
10. USA has big trade deficit. Practically, that means too many boats from China are sending stuff to USA, but they are empty on the way back. This creates very cheap freight prices if you want to send stuff to China.
Consequence of this and china's low labor cost is that even more processing work can be taken over from Americans. For example, filtering recycled clothes into different tiers is labor intensive in USA. China could do this cheaper even accounting for additional transport costs
11. USA has gradually eliminated quotas for t-shirts imports from other countries over last decade. That has shifted more volume to cheap countries that can produce fast, like China and Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, the poor working conditions are exacerbated by the lack of quotas. Sweatshop owners can push their people for more output, and since there's no governance structure to protect workers, it ends up creating human rights issues
1. Cotton
2. Manufacturing
3. Tariffs / quotas (politics)
4. Recycling
All very insightful. Here were my main takeaways:
1. Free trade and globalization are actually beneficial to the environment. Rich countries demand better, cleaner products and set higher standards. International manufacturers want to meet those standards, so they implement the most strict standards in their production.
2. Production of clothing is not actually the most damaging to the environment. Instead, it's how we maintain it - using dryer and hot water to wash is much more damaging environmentally
3. China's hukou system has helped to maintain its position as a leader in textile manufacturing. While other countries grow out of the industry, China hasn't as much because the hukou system allows them to keep wages low for migrant workers, and labor conditions poor
4. USA produces a shit load of cotton every year. Partially because of subsidies, but also because of technological advances. Poor countries have labor cost advantage, but that actually prevents them from innovating, which makes their yields constant rather than increasing like in the US
5. Industrial revolution in UK was triggered by developments in the textiles industry. These developments increased productivity, thereby lowering prices, and allowing poor people to dress attractively, giving birth to a consumer class
6. The textile lobby in the US has considerable influence because of its geographic connectivity (concentrated in the south) and deep bonds (mostly family businesses that go back generations together). As a result, they've been able to secure lots of benefits from politicians over the years, more successfully than most other interest groups.
7. Per the US constitution, trade policy is the responsibility of congress. However, Congress's best interests is to be protectionist, as they are subject to local elections every few years. Therefore, congress setting trade policy will be inherently protectionist
8. Recycled clothing mostly goes to Africa. I used to go to markets in Rwanda and wonder where all the clothes came from. This makes sense. Typically filtered in the US first, then sold for pennies per pound. Once it gets to Tanzania, it goes to the markets. The best products accounts for 90% of the profits
9. Giving these clothes to Africans is often criticizes as preventing their economies from growing (my problem with Tom's). Author argues against that though, saying that this process creates different and more jobs (hustlers at the markets and ports).
10. USA has big trade deficit. Practically, that means too many boats from China are sending stuff to USA, but they are empty on the way back. This creates very cheap freight prices if you want to send stuff to China.
Consequence of this and china's low labor cost is that even more processing work can be taken over from Americans. For example, filtering recycled clothes into different tiers is labor intensive in USA. China could do this cheaper even accounting for additional transport costs
11. USA has gradually eliminated quotas for t-shirts imports from other countries over last decade. That has shifted more volume to cheap countries that can produce fast, like China and Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, the poor working conditions are exacerbated by the lack of quotas. Sweatshop owners can push their people for more output, and since there's no governance structure to protect workers, it ends up creating human rights issues
May 17, 2021
Pietra Rivoli's writing style definitely surprised me in this book. Usually, I'm a skeptic towards this kind of genre because the authors tend to over-sensationalize the ideas presented and focus less on actual analysis and reflection. I wondered, for example, if the book was just going to be a recitation of the factory names and interviews with people involved in the production of the shirt. "The Travels of A T-Shirt", however, establishes its premise and its research style extremely well straight from the beginning. The prologue, starting from the university protests, although a tad too boring for its length, hooked me on.
The depiction of the ins and outs of globalization in "Travels" is astounding to me. Needless to say, the book is much less about the actual t-shirt in question than it seems and much more about the inner workings of modern countries and their economical policies and relationships. It was particularly fascinating for me to find out about the constant disputes among large players in the cotton/garment industry on tariffs and import quotas, and how often the so highly revered "free trade" is broken or disregarded for one's own interest.
One new concept I got out of the book would be how widespread is reselling used clothes to African countries. I've never contemplated this idea before, and it seems to be such an essential part of the "afterlife" of a t-shirt.
"The Travels of A T-Shirt" is excellent as a relaxing side read or an audiobook to listen to in the car. It is riddled with general knowledge on the global economy and curious tidbits to share with friends. It does not deserve a 5-star rating simply because there was nothing in it that changed my outlook on the world or completely shifted my paradigm. If I wanted a profound eye-opening book, this wouldn't be my first choice. Still, it's a fun read and I recommend it.
The depiction of the ins and outs of globalization in "Travels" is astounding to me. Needless to say, the book is much less about the actual t-shirt in question than it seems and much more about the inner workings of modern countries and their economical policies and relationships. It was particularly fascinating for me to find out about the constant disputes among large players in the cotton/garment industry on tariffs and import quotas, and how often the so highly revered "free trade" is broken or disregarded for one's own interest.
One new concept I got out of the book would be how widespread is reselling used clothes to African countries. I've never contemplated this idea before, and it seems to be such an essential part of the "afterlife" of a t-shirt.
"The Travels of A T-Shirt" is excellent as a relaxing side read or an audiobook to listen to in the car. It is riddled with general knowledge on the global economy and curious tidbits to share with friends. It does not deserve a 5-star rating simply because there was nothing in it that changed my outlook on the world or completely shifted my paradigm. If I wanted a profound eye-opening book, this wouldn't be my first choice. Still, it's a fun read and I recommend it.
May 13, 2021
Книга П’єтри Ріволі “Подорож футболки світовою економікою” загалом залишила приємне враження та трохи розширила розуміння глобалізованого світу. Вона дала побачити, як багато чинників стоїть за таким простим предметом, як футболка із принтом папужки за 10$.
Книга про глобальні процеси та економіку залишається зрозумілою та не вживає заважких термінів або професійних понять, тому підходить як знайомства з цією тематикою. Попри це, місцями інформації та деталей забагато і авторка задалеко відходить від теми своєї футболки.
Найцікавіше - те, як П'єтра Ріволі олюднює виробництво і промисловість: фермери, працівники на заводі, продавці на ринку, політики - це такі ж живі люди, як ми: з власними цінностями, мріями, долями. Навіть за такими політичними моделями як протекціонізм або фрі-трейд стоять людські обличчя. А там де люди - немає однозначності.
Найсильніше особисто на мене вплинула та підняла чимало етичних, екологічних і соціальних питань тема мітубми. Про саме виробництво одягу у контексті прав людини чи екології говорять зараз багато, а от про утилізацію не так часто. Куди потрапить ваша футболка, передана на благодійність, і який вплив вона матиме на національне виробництво, культурну ідентичність та працівників світу вживаного одягу - цікаві питання, до якими спонукає задаватись книга. Раніше я думала про секонд-хенд як виключно позитивне явище, однак тепер бачу двоякість його природи.
Кардинально мій світогляд не змінився і я все ще бачу більше плюсів у глобалізації, ніж мінусів, однак після прочитання я розумію негативні сторони чіткіше. І тепер я зважатиму на більше аспектів, купуючи одяг.
“Подорож футболки” показує різні сторони глобалізації, і не тільки економічні. Це і робочі місця, і вигода від найгірших умов праці; це і боротьба з імпортом, і економічне зростання внаслідок співпраці; це і рушій до розвитку, і згубний екологічний слід. Немає чистого добра або чистого зла і все має свою ціну: від футболки до людського життя - ось про що пише Ріволі.
Книга про глобальні процеси та економіку залишається зрозумілою та не вживає заважких термінів або професійних понять, тому підходить як знайомства з цією тематикою. Попри це, місцями інформації та деталей забагато і авторка задалеко відходить від теми своєї футболки.
Найцікавіше - те, як П'єтра Ріволі олюднює виробництво і промисловість: фермери, працівники на заводі, продавці на ринку, політики - це такі ж живі люди, як ми: з власними цінностями, мріями, долями. Навіть за такими політичними моделями як протекціонізм або фрі-трейд стоять людські обличчя. А там де люди - немає однозначності.
Найсильніше особисто на мене вплинула та підняла чимало етичних, екологічних і соціальних питань тема мітубми. Про саме виробництво одягу у контексті прав людини чи екології говорять зараз багато, а от про утилізацію не так часто. Куди потрапить ваша футболка, передана на благодійність, і який вплив вона матиме на національне виробництво, культурну ідентичність та працівників світу вживаного одягу - цікаві питання, до якими спонукає задаватись книга. Раніше я думала про секонд-хенд як виключно позитивне явище, однак тепер бачу двоякість його природи.
Кардинально мій світогляд не змінився і я все ще бачу більше плюсів у глобалізації, ніж мінусів, однак після прочитання я розумію негативні сторони чіткіше. І тепер я зважатиму на більше аспектів, купуючи одяг.
“Подорож футболки” показує різні сторони глобалізації, і не тільки економічні. Це і робочі місця, і вигода від найгірших умов праці; це і боротьба з імпортом, і економічне зростання внаслідок співпраці; це і рушій до розвитку, і згубний екологічний слід. Немає чистого добра або чистого зла і все має свою ціну: від футболки до людського життя - ось про що пише Ріволі.
April 21, 2023
I had to read this book for my economics class. I did not think I was going to like it, but was pleasantly surprised! I enjoyed following the cotton grown in North Carolina all the way to Africa (after the shirt had been donated to a Salvation Army).
June 19, 2023
An insightful read … The historical-to-the then contemporary detail that Writer has put forth, to display intertwined relationship among Free Market Economy, International Business, Socio-economy, Culture, Politics, and Interest Groups, is fascinating.
February 4, 2020
This is not the kind of book I normally read. I enjoyed it for the most part as it was pretty fascinating. Parts of it were slow but otherwise not too bad.
April 1, 2021
Mandatory reading for anyone wanting to enhance their understanding of economic history, supply chains, international trade and trade politics.
December 4, 2024
3.5/5
Väldigt bra. Lite väl naiv/positiv inför den fria marknaden but I don't mind
Väldigt bra. Lite väl naiv/positiv inför den fria marknaden but I don't mind
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