Sierra's March/April 2008 Let's Talk selection: Fugitive Denim
A book by Rachel Louise Snyder Review by Marilyn Berlin Snell
What it's about
On this unexpectedly affecting, and at times hilarious, pant-chasing excursion into global trade, readers encounter the designer for Bono's righteous label, Edun; cotton classers in Azerbaijan who judge the material's quality; and textile workers in Cambodia and China. Afterward, it'll be hard to pull on a pair of jeans and not think about the people who made them.
Where to get it Fugitive Denim is widely available at libraries and bookstores.
About the filmmakers
Rachel Louise Snyder is a freelance journalist with a wicked sense of humor and excellent reporting chops. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, and Slate.
Discussion questions
Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, founded an eco-line of clothes called Edun. For the most part, the garment industry has been a huge benefactor of lax labor and environmental standards. Do you think it can also be part of the solution? What guides your own consumer choices?
Nike, the Gap, and other brands got a black eye when it was discovered that their products were manufactured in sweatshops. Do bad press and consumer boycotts work? Is it possible for these companies to insure that their products are manufactured ethically? If so, what can they do, and which ones are doing it well?
Snyder notes that "most garments carry labels with a single country but handprints from a multitude of nations." How is it possible to really know where our clothes are made? And if we don't know, how can we regulate for safe, fair, and environmentally healthy policies?
The author notes that the garment industry is still reeling from a decision made by the World Trade Organization in 2005. That year the WTO let an agreement expire that had set limits on the amount of textiles and apparel any one country could export to the United States--basically a quota system that kept giants like China and India from controlling the market. Three years later, who's winning? Who's losing?
Between 1995 and 2005, the United States paid more than $19 billion in cotton subsidies, and in spite of the WTO ruling against such subsidies, payments have increased every year since 1995. Why do we subsidize cotton? Should we?
Did you know that Turkey was the first country to certify organic cotton? What are the obstacles to certification? Do farms that grow organic cotton have an edge? Is it a viable industry? What ideas do you have about how to grow the organic cotton industry?
How do you feel about big-name companies like Armani, Gucci, and Prada moving their manufacturing to Asia from their historic home base of Italy? Is garment manufacturing in developed countries on its way to becoming a thing of the past? What will happen to Italy's fashion industry if this happens? If it helps poor countries develop, is it a bad thing?
The average pair of jeans carries three-quarters of a pound of chemicals. What part of the process contributes to this chemical stew? Is there a way to make jeans without wreaking such havoc?
The European Union has a law called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) that requires all businesses producing or selling products in Europe to prove the chemicals used in manufacturing the goods are safe. Why doesn't the United States have anything remotely like this law?
Take action
Join campaigns by Co-Op America and Global Exchange to end sweatshop labor in the garment industry.
Get involved with the Sustainable Cotton Project, which promotes fair-trade, organic, and sustainable cotton clothes.
