What do you think?
Rate this book
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy 2nd (second) edition
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 20, 2025
I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. I was assigned to read it for school and it really stretched my brain and my understanding of economics!It follows the travels of how a T-shirt is made and what happens to it at all the stages of production and distribution. The book is not just a list of facts but is made more engaging by meeting certain people or families that work in the different industries along the way, along with the politics and other complexities that follow each process. The book also traces lots of background and history of the different areas covered by the book in order for the reader to understand the current dynamics. It is written in a very academic way. Wow this book opened up my eyes to the complexities of economics!! The author reveals that reality and solutions to problemsare much more complicated than we would like to think.
The chapters on cotton were helpful to round out my situation of the web of interdependence and complexity in regard to things like government subsidies, GMO crops, Monsanto, roundup, herbicides amd all that. I am a strong proponent for organic, non-GMO food etc. However the chapters on cotton opened my eyes to the fact that there are no easy answers. The GMOs I think are bad were developed to solve a problem, but they just created different new problems. The threat to economic or natural balance of nature being thrown off loom over the industry. And honestly it leaves me wondering if the problem is solvable! When one area of the web is getting better- better working conditions, not having to be so dependent on perfect weather etc. another area tips toward the negative- horribly toxic chemicals being sprayed in increased amounts, great dependance on big greedy companies (like Monsanto) etc.
Wow all this is complex! I “knew” that was the case but I feel like I’m experiencing the fact through the book and getting to understand the perspectives of others. I think that is the most valuable take away for me. Being able to comprehend the depth of the situation and see the different angles. Throughout the book, I found it fascinating to see what and how big a role politics plays in economics.
The section of cotton was my favorite for some reason, and I learned lots of interesting facts:
The cotton trash- the stems, leaves etc. that were sprayed with chemicals to make them shrivel brown, are used as cattle feed. (YIKES!)
Cottonseed oil is sold to snickers bars, Ravi spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, crispy snack food- biggest buyer in the world is frito lay
CRISCO stand for “crystallized cottonseed oil”
Cottonseed oil is not imported to Europe because GM
Hockly county cotton farmer population 22,000 got 70 million in subsidies
The farm bill renewing subsidies added support for lots and lots of other areas and ended up not really being a farm bill at all
Other fun facts from the book:
95% of garments that Americans purchased in recent years were produced in other countries
Technological changes cost more American jobs than companies moving to other countries
Some Chinese countries sew labels that say”made in Vietnam”
Some parts of the book were slow and hard to read but that’s just because the book does such a good job really rounding out the picture and looking at all the angles. The detail gets exhausting at some points. Some of the info will now be out of date but overall, I am happily surprised I liked this book and am walking away feeling like I learned a lot and feel that I have a better understanding of the local and world economy.
The chapters on cotton were helpful to round out my situation of the web of interdependence and complexity in regard to things like government subsidies, GMO crops, Monsanto, roundup, herbicides amd all that. I am a strong proponent for organic, non-GMO food etc. However the chapters on cotton opened my eyes to the fact that there are no easy answers. The GMOs I think are bad were developed to solve a problem, but they just created different new problems. The threat to economic or natural balance of nature being thrown off loom over the industry. And honestly it leaves me wondering if the problem is solvable! When one area of the web is getting better- better working conditions, not having to be so dependent on perfect weather etc. another area tips toward the negative- horribly toxic chemicals being sprayed in increased amounts, great dependance on big greedy companies (like Monsanto) etc.
Wow all this is complex! I “knew” that was the case but I feel like I’m experiencing the fact through the book and getting to understand the perspectives of others. I think that is the most valuable take away for me. Being able to comprehend the depth of the situation and see the different angles. Throughout the book, I found it fascinating to see what and how big a role politics plays in economics.
The section of cotton was my favorite for some reason, and I learned lots of interesting facts:
The cotton trash- the stems, leaves etc. that were sprayed with chemicals to make them shrivel brown, are used as cattle feed. (YIKES!)
Cottonseed oil is sold to snickers bars, Ravi spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, crispy snack food- biggest buyer in the world is frito lay
CRISCO stand for “crystallized cottonseed oil”
Cottonseed oil is not imported to Europe because GM
Hockly county cotton farmer population 22,000 got 70 million in subsidies
The farm bill renewing subsidies added support for lots and lots of other areas and ended up not really being a farm bill at all
Other fun facts from the book:
95% of garments that Americans purchased in recent years were produced in other countries
Technological changes cost more American jobs than companies moving to other countries
Some Chinese countries sew labels that say”made in Vietnam”
Some parts of the book were slow and hard to read but that’s just because the book does such a good job really rounding out the picture and looking at all the angles. The detail gets exhausting at some points. Some of the info will now be out of date but overall, I am happily surprised I liked this book and am walking away feeling like I learned a lot and feel that I have a better understanding of the local and world economy.
Displaying 1 of 1 review