The Travels Of A T-Shirt In The Global Econommy

Valeria Lujan
In312 75A
Prof. Patrick Yanez
December 3rd, 2012
The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy-Book Report
Question 1:
The story begins in Georgetown University campus when agroup of activists student are protesting against globalization and the ‘bad guys’: corporations, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. In that protest, the author of the bookhears one of the protesters ask ‘Who made your T-shirt?’.
Later, she is in Florida and finds a cotton T-shirt bin in a Wallgreen’s store that was sold for $5.99. Then, back in Washington, the authordecides to embark in a journey to find out where that T-Shirt was coming from.
The first step was ‘Sherry Manufacturing’, a manufacturing company located in Miami. From there the president of themanufacturing company tells her that the T-shirt came from China, a manufacturer called ‘Shanghai Knitwear’. So the author follows the T-shirt to Shanghai.
Other of her trips includes her visit to theReinsch farm, in Smyer, Texas, where she learns about the cotton industry of America. She learns about cotton subsidies and the entrepreneurship of cotton growers and their communities.
Throughoutthe book the author expands on subjects such us the Industrial Revolution in England and how cotton was the trigger that changed an era; how China controls its citizens through its Hukou system; howfree trade takes place in Africa and used America clothes; and one of the main topics of the book, how politics lead ‘free-trade’.
Question 2:
The purpose of the book is to tell a story, but also tolearn and discover economic and political lessons. I think the author’s main idea is about how free trade works, or it could work, with its advantages and disadvantages; and how protectionism plays ahuge role in the world of trading. The book is centralized on wether free trade and globalization are harmful or not to our societies, it notes it highs and lows, analyzing its different aspects in...