Travels of a T-Shirt Review

Travels of a t-shirt in a global economy In her book, The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy, Pietra Rivoli takes on the intricacies and complexities of trade and globalization through following the path of a T-Shirt she purchased from Walgreens for $5.99. It is a very informative book and her writing is such that the reader is left feeling both well informed on the issues discussed, as well as entertained. Rivoli breaks up the book into 4 sections. In Part I, “King Cotton,” we are brought to an area in West Texas, an area that boasts to be home to much of the world’s cotton. In fact, the main city, Lubbock, calls itself the “cottonest city” in the world (Rivoli 3). Cotton, it would seem, has a very sordid past. “The worlds first factories were cotton textile factories” (Rivoli 9), and these came about during the Industrial Revolution in England. Demand increased so much during this time that it became necessary for Britain to look elsewhere for its cotton. The winner here was the American South. But based on the graph on page 10, the American South did not really start to trump its competition until roughly 1821. Perhaps the real cause for the American successes was the fact that cotton production relied heavily on slave labor. Slavery, sharecropping, and factory farming were how farmers were able to reduce the risk of competition and labor shortages during harvest season. As Rivoli says on page 24, success depended upon avoiding—not competing in—the labor market. Next, we learn about how technology advances and mechanization has finally solved the labor problems, and about the policies and subsidies that ultimately led to America having the top spot in cotton production—from the Agricultural Adjustment Act of the 30’s to the subsidies of the Farm Bill of the early 2000’s. In Part II of the book, “Made in China,” Rivoli goes on to discuss what happens to the cotton after it leaves Texas, and subsequently, the United States. Its destination: China.

Cited: Florida, Richard. Who’s Your City? New York: Basic Books, 2008. Print. Massey, Doreen. For Space. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2005. Print. Rivoli, Pietra. The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print.