Tag Archives: Timmerman

The Pro’s & Con’s of TOMS Shoes (and another option)

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I got a pair of TOMS shoes in the mail last week (thanks Mom).  They’re super comfortable, and I got them in this snazzy gold herringbone pattern: The Pros & Cons of TOMS Shoes (and another option)

I know there are issues with give-away philanthropy, so I did a little digging to see how sustainable TOMS Shoes really are.  Putting aside TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie‘s accidental speech to the anti-gay Christian group Focus on the Family in June, there are several fundamental problems with the way TOMS gives back.

Giveaways Don’t Solve the Problem

As Kelsey Timmerman, author of Where Am I Wearing, reminds us, this is a classic case of giving someone a fish vs. teaching him/her how to fish. Giving children shoes is all very well and good, but does nothing to address the root causes of the poverty that makes them shoeless in the first place.  In fact, 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 →

Know What’s In Your Knickers

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While researching eco-friendly lingerie (post coming soon) I came across this rather shocking video and website by a UK group Morethanprettyknickers.

The group describes their aim as changing the textile industry for the better.  This is exactly the kind of thing I can get on board with.  They don’t want us to go commando 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 →