T Shirt Globalization

Based on the title “T-shirts and globalization” I assumed that the videos and associated texts was going to show how the production of a simply t-shirt would be much more complex than I could of ever imagined. When you purchase a t-shirt you do not think about all the people, machines, or countries it took to create it. From the videos and associated text I learned that globalization has changed who we manufacture goods.

After watching these videos and reading the associated test I was shocked how many different countries where involved in making a basic graphic tee. The production of the Planet Money T-shirt started on a cotton farm is Mississippi where the cotton for the shirt was harvested. Once the cotton was picked it was taken to a spinning factory in Indonesia. There the cotton is stretched, twisted and turned into yarn. From the spinning factory the yarn is sent to Bangladesh where the yarn is then transformed into fabric. The t-shirt is then sewed together in a factory in either Colombia or Bangladesh. Mens t-shirt were constructed in Bangladesh while the womens t-shirt were constructed in Colombia. Once the t-shirt are done they are then shipped back to the U.S. In total, four different countries helped produced Planet Money T-shirts.

In the video entitled “People” we were able to meet some of the workers in the sewing factories that helped produce the t-shirts. We were introduced to Jasmine who work in a sewing factory in Bangladesh and Doris who worked in a sewing factory in Colombia. Both workers were responsible for sewing together the fabric produce in Bangladesh but shockingly their lives where very different. Jasmine lived with her brother, sister-in-law, and roommate in a small apartment that did not even have running water. She only makes about $80 a month working in the sewing factory. Doris lives with her mother in an apartment in Colombia. She is able to support both of them off the money she makes in the sewing factory.