Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment

by Maxine Bedat

In Unraveled, entrepreneur, researcher, and advocate Maxine B�dat follows the life of an American icon--a pair of jeans--to reveal what really happens to give us our clothes. We visit a Texas cotton farm figuring out how to thrive without relying on fertilizers that poison the earth. Inside dyeing and weaving factories in China, where chemicals that are banned in the West slosh on factory floors and drain into waterways used to irrigate local family farms. Sewing floors in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are crammed with women working for illegally low wages to produce garments as efficiently as machines. Back in America, our jeans get stowed, picked, and shipped out by Amazon warehouse workers pressed to be as quick as the robots primed to replace them. Finally, those jeans we had to have get sent to landfills--or, if they've been donated, shipped back around the world to Africa, where they're sold for pennies in secondhand markets or buried and burned in mountains of garbage.

Unraveled is not just the story of a pair of pants, but also the story of our global economy and our role in it. Unraveled challenges us to use our relationship with our jeans--and all that we wear--to reclaim our central role as citizens to refashion a society in which all people can thrive and preserve the planet for generations to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Business, Economics, Audiobook, Environment, Sustainability

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2021

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye Opening, Yet Critically Flawed. Bedat does *phenomenal* work in this text when reporting what she has found in her investigations of trying to track even a "typical" cotton *garment* from the cotton seed to its eventual use and destruction. Using each chapter as a way to trace one particular step in the chain was truly a stroke of editing genius, as it concentrates just what is happening at that particular stage. And some of it - including the direct link, in Bangladesh at minimum, between garment factories and sex work (where in one particular harrowing tale, a source tells Bedat that when she gets in the van to be taken to a factory as a day worker, she sometimes finds herself at a massage parlor instead) - is utterly horrific. It is these sections of the book that are *so* strong that the book *had* to be rated fairly highly.

HOWEVER, when Bedat speaks almost at *all* of policy or her own opinions... well, this is when the critical flaws become apparent. To be fair, she *is* at least somewhat more balanced than many leftists, and outright points out things that ardent Bernie Sanders / AOC types won't want to hear. But in her attacks of "neoliberalist capitalism" - a running strawman throughout the narrative - ... eh, I'll be a touch gentle and go with "YMMV". If you happen to be on that side, you're going to love her commentary here. If, like me, you find yourself more an adherent of Milton, Mises, Hayek, Bastiat, etc (the so-called "Austrian School of Economics")... you're not going to like her commentary so much. The star reduction, to be clear, isn't from the fact that I don't like much of the commentary - but that I can so easily refute it, despite not being a trained economist (just a - clearly ;) - well read human :D).

And yet, the actual reporting here is simply too strong, too eye opening. This is a book that *needs* to be read for its current issues reporting, if for no other reason - and even if her commentary leads one to contemplate defenestration of the book. If you've read Hafsa Lodi's Modesty or Virginia Postrel's Fabric of Civilization (among presumably numerous other recent texts on fashion / clothing/ fabric), do yourself a favor and read this one too. Even if you haven't, do yourself a favor and read all three books. ;)

Very much recommended.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent. A must read for anyone interested in fashion.

Upon re-reading - it is hard to read this book and not question every purchasing habit I've made recently. This book will help you understand the effect you didn't know you have on people you will never meet.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative look at the making of our clothes. definitely a must read for anyone who buys any clothing-which means everyone. i feel books like this should be a required reading in school.

[Tracy Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Troubling but compelling reading An important expose of our consumer habits
Also, the human fallout of economic growth and capitalism
Fast fashion at a cost to our planet and the most vulnerable people who live on it
Highly recommend this well researched book

[Manish Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good read to understand the consequences of our insatiable desire to consume. While some of us have a sense of the problems in the fashion industry, the book makes it real to the extent you might reconsider buying your next pair of the proverbial jeans. The book is pretty timely as well given the focus on transforming our economy to a sustainable one. While it captures the journey of a garment in the fashion industry from farm to landfill, it is generalizable to a certain extent for most manufacturing that has a large labor footprint.

The book details disregard for the local environment in textile manufacturing hubs in China. It also provides a view into the life of Rima, a garment worker in Bangladesh, along with workers involved in different stages of journey of a pair of jeans. While the author found the experiences in Asia quite unbelievable, I think that is a western view of things. As someone who has straddled both worlds, I can relate to nonchalance among the local populace. Not saying that this is ideal, but this is how we grew up never knowing an alternative world. Very often, it is not instant gratification that individuals are living/working for but rather a hope of building a brighter future for coming generations. And that keeps them engaged - a little hope is all one needs.

In the end, it all comes down to excessive consumption. One can debate whether markets created consumerism or it just brought our innate desires to the fore. Globalization further fueled consumerism (it did a whole lot of good too!) by driving down manufacturing costs and making goods available at a scale not imaginable before. It did take away some jobs in western world but at the same time created economic opportunities in the rest of the world. The book questions the quality of jobs created - but I would argue any job is better than no job. Globalization has an overall positive effect but it does create winners and losers - it is for policymakers to ensure the losers are not left to market forces beyond their control.

What is missing in this entire book is any discussion on population. While Malthus was wrong, the population and standard of living, both can’t keep growing. There is only so much that the planet can offer before breaking down. The book mentions the best way to consume sustainably is to not consume at all. Imagine that in a world where central banks are doing everything they can to essentially simulate consumption. Hopeful of a world where we do strike the right balance. Overall it is a worthy read.

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maxine Bedat's Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment is another must-read for every clothes-wearing human, particularly in America, the UK, and Germany (apparently the 3 largest textile-waste-producing nations.

The author traces the "lifecycle" of a pair of jeans, from the farming of the cotton fiber to its processing/spinning into yarns, to where those yarns are woven into denim fabric to where the fabric is cut and sewn into jeans, even across where the jeans are sold to the consumer to where they enter the secondhand garment trade to where they finally end up either recycled or put into a landfill.

It's truly a global journey, and readers may be surprised to see how contemporary fashion production encircles the planet from beginning to end. The author dispels misconceptions about "organic fiber" and "sustainable production," and this book is another sobering call-to-action in the same vein as another recently-reviewed/-released title, Alden Wicker's To Dye For.

Bedat doesn't leave us buried in despair and textile waste though--she enumerates suggestions for how we can reform the fashion industry both as consumers (through well-considered purchasing choices) and as citizens (by advocating for policy change).

She ends the book with a vision for the future of what our closets and wardrobes could look like in 2030 that is truly inspiring. Like Wicker's book, Unraveled could have been dense and difficult to get through but her engaging writing and ability to focus on the individuals working at each stage of the process (from a cotton farmer in Texas to a Bangladeshi factory worker to a Staten Island garbage truck driver) makes it an engrossing read.

Highly recommend, particularly for costume designers, fashion enthusiasts, and style influencers.

[katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

everyone needs to read this!! extremely eye opening and has entirely changed the way i think about clothes

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Definitely very interesting to see how an item of clothing begins and ends. Gave me a lot to think about, and something I think most people should learn about.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written with clarity, humility, journalistic rigor, and a deep respect for humanity, UNRAVELED exposes some of the most surprising and horrifying truths of the garment industry—and the complex web of economics, politics, and cultural institutions that have made it the force it is today. By introducing us to the people behind each stage of our clothing's journey—from cotton grown in Texas to the factory workers in Asia to the Amazon packers in the US and the secondhand sellers in Ghana—the book offers a new perspective on what it means to buy a pair of jeans, or anything really. It reveals the undeniable fact that we are all connected, and asks us to consider how our individual behaviors ripple out around the world and through time. If we start by examining the things we wear with this degree of mindfulness and accountability, we might find that all parts of our world, including the systems and institutions that shape society, reflect more of what we want for each other—love, community, and acknowledgment of our gifts as individuals, which are as unique and stylish as how we dress.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opening and interesting story. It really makes you think about the purchases you make and how what feels like a small splurge can really affect someone far away.

I liked the flow of the story, starting from the beginning and breaking for each stage. I found some of the stories really hard to read but so shocking and really makes me re-think about the things I buy. This one will stick with me. I highly recommend it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Karen Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should take a good, hard look at their clothing purchases and consider the effect that shopping and consumption is having on the planet. There are many factors in play in the manufacture of goods and this book can open one’s eyes to all the levels of pollution and exploitation involved. Bezos put his rocket in space on the backs of many exploited workers who make barely enough to live at the poverty level.

[Sally Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consider me more educated than ever before regarding the clothing that fills our retail stores. It seems quality continues to deteriorate. Name brand products that used to imply quality have been sold out in all but the name. Still the public consumes more and more while caring less and less for anything other than a temporary consumer high. Second hand for me will have to work from now on, for I too have been guilty of buying needlessly. Great factual background on the industry and none of it is cheerful.

[Aerie Nandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book answers so many questions I didn't really want to ask about my clothing, but have felt like needed to know. As stated on Bedat's website, "It's time to start some uncomfortable conversations"

[Amanda Butz · Rating 2 out of 5]

too long!! would not recommend...while there were some interesting ideas and it definitely made me more aware of what is happening, I feel like this would have been better suited as an article. It was too long and repetitive and just too much of the author's own opinion.

[Kyra Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly informative — this book taught me so much about the harmful worldwide textile and garment industry. Bedat did such a good job of packing this book full of information, data, and first-hand accounts while still making it approachable and an easy read. She uncovers a lot of upsetting and damning information but manages to end the book in a positive and uplifting way.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't always love the writing style in this book (there were so many metaphors for descriptions that didn't need a metaphor!), but I did love the information about how the clothing industry works from the start of a garment's life to the end of it. This was really eye-opening about every element of the industry and how so much of it is detrimental to people and the planet.

[Maggie Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up. An important read on how the clothing industry impacts the world.

[Daksh · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much talk is going on regarding climate change though little we understand the root cause of it. Fashion industry is one of culprit. Maxine Bedat beautifully covers entire lifecycle of a jeans from farm to recycling and touch upon issues at each stage. It's an eye opener and same time empowering that we can do something individually by not buying more clothes which is the only sustainable solution. You will find why recycling is not a lasting solution in the book. A must read for young generation and other alike.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a slog for me, but the information was compelling. It was interesting to see the complete process in the life of a pair of jeans, but just a bit too much flogging of the evils of consumerism and capitalism.

In a nutshell, buy less, buy quality, wear natural fibers, support sustainability and support workers rights. Put some energy into political activism to hold our representatives and corporations to a globally thoughtful system.

Marie Kondo the shit out of your closet & shop your thrift store.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this.

[Sudhagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this book can be viewed from two perspectives - one from the aspect of how the industry works and the other is on how to fix the problems created by it.

For the first part in detailing how the garment/fast fashion industry works from farms to consumers, Maxine does a fantastic job of going to the actual farms, factories/ sweat shops and other key nodes of this network around the world. Sometimes she does this at considerable risks to her personal safety and security. What she tells us from her research and travels is eye opening for most of us, though those of us who work in the corporate world, wouldn't be surprised or shocked. Though many reporters have exposed some of these workings of the industry, until now no one has done this from end to end and for that, Maxine deserves credit and 5-star rating (though her narrative style where she inserts herself in these stories sometimes can come across as irritating).

For the 2nd part, she writes with great humanity and passion and unlike many other liberals and activists, her sincerity shines through. She has obviously thought through these difficult questions in depth and offers some workable solutions, again unlike many other activists. However, this is where I find the writing to be weaker and less persuasive. While I agree with her overarching objectives, the solutions are not as simple as she thinks. She needs view the issue from a broader perspective to get a deeper and wider understanding of the social, economic, political and business aspects before offering solutions.

First, let's have some understanding on what's going on in the Third world countries she has mentioned in terms of salaries, working conditions, etc. What we need to understand is that while these jobs are harsh and pay poorly, without these sweatshops, millions of Asians and Africans will go hungry. The garment industry has transformed Bangladesh, Vietnam and other parts of the developing world economically. You can't just listen to what the Western NGOs say without understanding this simple fact. Also you can't compare the working conditions and laws of the developed nations and developing ones.

Second, the world is a very unequal place. The rich developed world has money far excess to their needs while it is the opposite in the developing and poor nations. The garment industry in a way helps to redress this imbalance by exchanging money for services.

Third, the environmental impact of these industries is indeed bad for our planet. But we all know that to eliminate the toxic by-products from the industry means we need to pay more. It is as simple as that. You can't blame the factories when they are paid only for the products they produce and not to ensure the process is environmentally sustainable. In this industry, the giant Western companies make all the profits while the manufacturers make a pittance.

Finally, while I agree that the demand for garments should be reduced to control the supply, it is easier said than done due to the governments' policy of encouraging consumption by printing money, easy credits (including the new business model of "buy now pay later"), excessive focus on marketing, irresponsible parents for spending too much for their kids', the influence of social media, TV/movies, etc. In short, you can't change the reduce the demand without changing the whole world and how it works. Good luck with that.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important and spiritual book. It is filled with implications about seemingly innocent personal and policy choices that have severe consequences for us and the people around the world and the climate.

As a narrative, it looks at the history of our creation of clothing. It is a systems study beginning with the growth of the fibers, continuing with the supply chain of movement and processing the raw material through manufacturing and distribution of jeans. By studying the system, it is able to connect with things we don't ordinarily consider which have far-reaching implications. It is written in a way that is easy to understand. The story traces the path of advertising, sales, distribution and ultimately recycling and death of the jeans that we buy. Fashion is, in many ways a metaphor for life and this narrative shows how the plague of modern consumerism is wasting resources and unraveling our planet.

The many small distortions that we are fed in social media and the marketing of fashion products are designed to provide a salve to our consciences. However, they leave a trail of poverty and slave-like working conditions all around the world for those whose jobs feed our habits of consumption. It doesn't take much imagination to see the parallels between the marketing of fashion and many other goods that we accumulate or buy for the sake of newness or change which accomplish little and leave us feeling spiritually empty.

This is a story of "how we, our country, and the world are stitched together, and how the tensions within and between these threads are tearing our natural, political and economic systems apart at the seams". In the end, the author narrates many little things we can do to reduce the pressures towards climate change and "address the wrongs of the system through the different roles that we play in society -as a consumer, ... and as a citizen, which I suggest is both or more powerful and more pleasurable role".

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
The next installment of reading books about clothes etc. this book focuses on the lifecycle of clothes production and manufacturing and the impacts of it.

The main premise of the book was following a pair of jeans from beginning (in a cotton field in Texas) through spinning, weaving, cutting, sewing and selling via Amazon, and then tossing or donating at the end (spoiler alter: most of the clothes donated in the US are shipped to other countries - this author when to Ghana - where they are resold or ultimately thrown away there).

I did learn a lot and appreciated the authors perspective - especially from farm until amazon and post wear. Obviously not great working conditions at all parts of this process & lots of cutting cost for poor working and environmental conditions.
Key lessons for me:
- a person (and many people) make every single piece of clothing we wear.
- fast fashion prices and quality mean that corners have been cut and bad working conditions, likely for folks who have the littlest say.
- trying to think about durability and cost per wear rather than initial sticker price.
- donations should be reserved for clothes in good condition, think: would I buy this item in this condition? Otherwise someone else is just going to throw it away. If it is trash, just make rags or throw away.
- online shopping combined with social media has really fueled so many of these changes (hello tiny dopamine hits)

Complaints were in the shopping/purchasing part of the lifecycle I feel like the story kinda lost the plot, and honestly a little too pro capitalism throughout for my taste. And her recs at the end were just okay - I felt like they applied more to higher consumption folks or high fashion. And I get annoyed when non fiction books are all like “as you read in chapter 6” or “more on that in chapter 12” the whole time.

[Heather Kerley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for anyone who has ever bought clothing, and especially if you've ever dipped into the supply of fast fashion flooding stores over the past two decades. After reading this book, I will never look at a pair of jeans the same way again.
Some of the most striking things: the number of stages that require water in the production of textiles (at least seven for cotton) and the number of times clothing goes across the world during its life cycle, from the cotton grower in Texas, to China where the cloth is made, to Bangladesh where it is sewn, to the United States where it is bought. But then it does another circumnavigation after it is donated, from the US, to Canada to be farmed out to India to be sorted and back to the us again to be repurposed. Or, it just ends up in a landfill in Ghana, contributing to a constant, toxic fire.
Each chapter outlines the stages in the journey while also examining the human impacts. Bedat links all of this to a larger system where inequality is baked into every level. Her research is detailed and she is transparent when she is unable to verify a commonly repeated truism. But what I most appreciate is her comprehensive set of realistic and actionable solutions to the problem. She closes with a vision of life after fast fashion, where we mindfully wear our clothes, workers are protected and have adequate pay, rivers stay clean, soil stays productive, and we are all not slaves to consumerism, but lead lives with greater meaning.

[Lilysusan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bedat's work is stunning. I believe this book has the potential for impacting the fashion industry to the degree Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" had on the pesticide industry. She has managed to pen an engaging story of an extremely complicated and opaque industry that hits every single one of us (unless you're choosing not to wear clothes). Unlike food, automobiles and the financial industries, fashion has operated in a regulation-free black box — so black that even the industry has little idea of its supply chain. From field or oil rig, to where rough fiber is cleaned, then spun, woven or knit, dyed and finally manufactured into clothing— the convoluted race course after ever cheaper costs leaves us—the planet and people —paying an exorbitant price in social and environmental degradation. Water waste, air pollution, plastic-riddled seas and shorelines (microplastic is everywhere, even in fish and arctic ice), and a dump-truck of clothing sent to landfills or burn pits every single second. So, if you wear clothes, read this book. It will change your relationship to your closet. And it will put you on the good side of the solution to our biggest problems. Best of all, this isn't a doom book. It's optimistic and empowering, showing us how to really love our clothes again and offering fresh air in more ways than one.

[EJ Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to be very interesting from the title. Then I got more interested with the introduction. By the first chapter though I was really tired of the authors too-frequent use of parenthesises (is that a word?) It really interrupted the flow of the paragraphs.
I was learning interesting things. Unfortunately, I think Bédat lost focus in her stated purpose to let us follow the life of a garment, a pair of jeans, from fiber, to cloth, to clothing, etc. Too soon the book just became a vehicle to harp on every far left leaning liberal talking point. The author showed her prejudice blatantly throughout the rest of the book. I kept wanting to ask, “What happened to the story of the jeans?” By the middle of the book I was just skimming the pages to find the brief mention of jeans.
I was intrigued by a few things like such as, cotton had been cultivated and worn as clothing since 6000 BC but unknown to the western world until the 1800s. Cotton is by far my favorite fabric so I’m glad we have it now. And that El Paso had been the Levi capital of the world.
Also, I would certainly follow Bédat’s idea to stop buying. I don’t enjoy shopping and would gladly wear clothes bought 5 or more years ago, but my body keeps changing sizes! So buy, and discard, I must do.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I'd recommend to anyone who wears clothes. Maxine Bedat follows a pair of jeans from first stitch to disposal. This book took me to unexpected places. To an extent, you're already bracing yourself for the material on the dismal factory conditions in China and Bangladesh, but there is so much more about the entire life of your clothes that will surprise you. Bedat includes a hefty section on Amazon, including its attempts to invade higher end fashion, and sobering details on how the vast majority of our Goodwill donations aren't ever resold at all: I was shocked to learn only 20% of donated clothes ever get repurchased. She tears into social media platforms like Instagram, where we turn into "distracted happiness machines," scrolling through photos of influencers who never appear in the same ensemble twice. She traces the root of our overconsumption to PR godfather Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud who helped nudge Americans toward being consumers above all (instead of simply citizens.)

So much to think about in here: labor issues, executive compensation, empty promises of "sustainability"-focused brands, and more.

[Zev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This set out to be both informative and entertaining, but it was largely informative. The sentences were long and I had to reread passages often. The chapter transitions aren't always great. But this book is jam-packed with information that is painstakingly laid out. The chapter titles make sense. It never occurred to me that union members could be on boards of organizations. This book not only explores how and when clothes are made and how it's changed over history, but societal and psychological forces around it. This book addresses the April 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, something I didn't know about. The Triangle Shirtwaist Disaster, which occurred 102 years prior in the US, is repeatedly mentioned for good reasons. Wealth inequality is discussed at length. Several chapters are dedicated to what happens to clothing shipped off to Africa, which is wildly different than I was led to believe. The final chapter had concrete ideas on how to combat the current systems, and I was glad..

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’ve read about the environmental impact of fast fashion before, and also ever read a book with the general thesis of “all Democratic viewpoints are the right viewpoints”, then there’s probably not that much new in this book. The author essentially follows a pair of jeans from the beginning with materials being grown on a farm to the end in a landfill, and shows all the issues and compromises that happen along the way.

There’s a ton of problems obviously, and my main takeaway was about how unverifiable the claim that a pair of clothes was “sustainably sourced” is. It will be interesting to see if in the future people own fewer outfits and re-wear things more often. I felt good on that front since I already have a habit of re-wearing the same outfits for years, even though this habit was more from thriftiness/laziness than any awareness of the environmental benefits.

[Sari Fordham · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you wear clothes, then this book is for you! If you like buying clothing on sale, then this book is really, really for you. Unraveled is essential reading for all of us.

The number of steps necessary to make each item of clothing should give us all pause. Add to that the exploitation of those who make our clothes and the destruction of the planet. Clothing companies have purposely moved production to countries without environmental or worker protections. We should ask why. And when those same companies know nothing about their supply chain we should understand that it's because the abuses are so horrific that they don't want to know. Fortunately, Bedat's investigative journalism takes us to factories and landfills and lets us see the true cost of fashion.

If this book sounds like a downer, it's not. We can all do better and advocate for the world we want.