Travels of a T Shirt

Tim Driscoll

In this reading, we are taken through the “travels” of a t-shirt as it makes its way from its origin of cotton fields all the way around the world for manufacturing, and finally retail. The reading gives a really good perspective on how far and wide products travel to find the cheapest, quickest, and most efficient labor, and shows how dependent many nations are on cheap labor around the world. The excerpt first explains where in the US the cotton is grown, and how US subsidies help to keep us on top when it comes to agricultural dominance in the global market, but also the downfalls of this system, namely the advantage it gives us over underdeveloped and impoverished nations. It goes on to follow the cotton across the country and ocean all the way to China, and further explains how it is spun, woven, cut, and manufactured into the end product that ultimately gets shipped back to the US for sale at extremely cheap prices. The author examines the Chinese economy and how their cheap labor and cheap overhead costs, usually from harsh labor practices and terrible working conditions, has moved thousands of jobs from the US overseas, and is crippling economies in the textile dependent parts of the US. The article really delves deep into such a trivial process that many of us don’t think twice about, and shows how such a simple process as the manufacturing of a t-shirt has huge ramifications in the global market, and other global trade policies.

On the topic of the question posed to us on the syllabus, if I were running for an NC senate position, I would 100% support protectionism. Although some may make the argument that it would be better to not support protectionism to allow NC to grow away from the textile industry and find a new industry, in my opinion the end goal is to win the election, and to win I must appeal to the voters in state. As written by scholars at Duke University, NC is “the second-largest textile state and the third-largest apparel...