Working with Team Challenge, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s endurance training and fundraising program, was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I have a personal connection to the Foundation. I also enjoy participating in various running events and marathons, so I have a general interest in working with fundraising race programs which […]
Continuing the theme from Chapter 8 about t-shirt trade policy, Pietra mentions “the master narrative, largely unquestioned since the early 1960’s or earlier, was that rich country protectionism for textiles and apparel was yet another example in the long history of rich countries tilting the playing field against poor countries through hypocritical policies.” (164) But […]
The Dudley SQRZ t-shirt was something my designer, Christopher Stetson Wilson, and I had been pondering for a while. We’re constantly kicking around ideas for new t-shirts designs. But we didn’t end up actually making the Dudley shirt until after receiving an e-mail from a die-hard SQRZ fan. She had purchased a Central SQRZ t-shirt […]
“Textile jobs are not going to China – textile jobs are going, period.” (142) This is the one of a couple memorable quotes. In a chapter all about the unanticipated effects of import quotes and government subsidies there are a few facts which really stand out. One is that textile and apparel import quotas cost […]
We learn about the “Alphabet Army” which is the name Pietra gives to all of the acronyms which together make up the American textile lobby. They were and are an extremely vigorous and active lobby. Lobbying is nothing unusual but their longevity and effectiveness is inspiring (for some) and frightening (to others).
I’ve been a fan of the water color art at the Pescadotes blog for a long time. Joe, who runs the blog and makes the art, is a close friend of mine from way back at Pierce School in first grade. So I was very excited when asked if I could print up some bags […]
A chapter that focuses on the labor side of making a t-shirt. Pietra makes the point that globalization and activists combine to improve labor standards. As an example, many rural people much preferred working in the mills than on the farms. Also, countries that at one point were big mill countries are now very successful […]
Google is known for delivering the best search results. It can be argued that they’re even better at identifying talent than search. No, they aren’t American Idol. But they are surprisingly similar. Both businesses have become too good at finding top talent. For our purposes the introspective genius with glasses is the same as the […]
The value of bottlenecks. This is what gave rise to “the factory system and to an entirely new economic order.” (75) That new economic order is one that we’ve become used to and take for granted. But rarely before 1800 was continuous grown and improvement the norm. A fascinating point is the idea that the […]
