T-Shirt Travels Review – 4: T-shirts and Eskimos

The fourth chapter is our introduction to China. Fittingly, it is here we learn more about cotton processing. We are reminded that nothing is as simple as it seems (why do we still need reminding about this? – it’s always true). There are many steps taken between harvesting raw cotton and making t-shirts. There are many forms of cotton itself. This point is nicely made by comparing what the general term “cotton” means to specialists and what “snow” means to Eskimos. (67) To experts, at least, “cotton” by itself means very little.