Tag Archives: Honduras

The Changing Landscape of the Global Garment Industry, Post-MFA

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The Changing Landscape of the Global Garment Industry, Post MFAAs someone relatively new to learning about sustainability and the global garment industry, I was blissfully unaware of this thing called the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) until I read Kelsey Timmerman’s book Where Am I Wearing? a few months ago.  After that, I started to see those three letters all over the place (and no, I wasn’t researching fine arts graduate programs).  Turns out, it was an agreement put in place in 1974 and ended in 2005, the existence of which, and now lack thereof, affects the lives millions of garment workers around the world.

The MFA, in a nutshell, was an agreement that restricted exports of textiles to developed countries (US, Canada, and the EU) from developing countries (China, et al). Since 1974, import quotas had been applied to 73 countries in the global South, mostly in Asia, but starting in 1995 they were phased out.  The quota system was abolished completely in 2005, drastically changing the game for garment-producing countries.

So what happens now?

Well, production shifts based on competitive factors.  The fear in 2004 was that basically everything would move to China because of its infrastructure, abundance of raw materials, and cheap labor.  And it’s true, Chinese textile exports did skyrocket.  In 2000, 13% of US textile imports were from China, and in 2010 that number was 39.7%.The Changing Landscape of the Global Garment Industry, Post MFA

So how do the other countries compete with China? Continue reading →

How about Nike? Are all sportswear companies evil?

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My roommate and I have an ongoing debate.  He’s a die-hard Nike fan, and I was raised to think “sweatshop” when I hear Nike.  So who’s right?  Have Nike and the other major sportswear brands become more responsible in the years since the initial scandal of 1996 when Life magazine ran an article with a photo of a 12-year-old Pakistani boy sewing a Nike soccer ball for which he was paid $0.60/day? Yes, somewhat.  But it appears we still have a long way to go.

How about Nike? Are all sportswear companies evil?

I will research the others in later posts but I’m going to start with Nike.  This article quotes Trim Bissell, coordinator of the U.S. Campaign for Labor Rights, explaining why Nike Continue reading →

Give ‘Em the Silent Treatment? The Debate Over Boycotts

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“‘What would you tell someone in the USA who won’t buy the jeans that you make because they don’t think you are paid enough or treated fairly?’ I ask.  Phoan, lost in thought, stares at the floor.  ’If they pay $45 for jeans,’ Ai says, ‘it helps us.  If people don’t buy, I’m unhappy because I wouldn’t have a job.’ Ai laughs at the simplicity of the logic.  Is it that simple?  Does an undecuated, 24-year-old garment worker hold the answer to how I should behave as a consumer?  To buy or not to buy, that is the question. “
- excerpt from Where Am I Wearing? by Kelsey Timmerman (emphasis added)

For decades, boycotting companies for bad labor practices has been a tactic employed to stop sweatshop labor and hold corporations accountable for wrongdoings at different levels of the supply chain.  And increased awareness has Continue reading →

Where are YOU wearing?

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Pseudo-review of Where Am I Wearing? by Kelsey Timmerman

Where Am I Wearing? is the story of the author’s travels to all of the countries that made his favorite clothes to meet the people that made them.  He visits Honduras (t-shirt), Bangladesh (“Jingle These” boxers), Cambodia (jeans), China (flip flops) and finally the US (shorts).  Contrary to what you might expect from the story of such a journey, the book is not preachy.  It’s not depressing or pessimistic.  If I had to describe it in one word I’d say it’s inquisitive.  Timmerman expertly captures Continue reading →