Not many people are aware of the effort and time that goes into making a t-shirt. We do not think about the production process and all the hands that have touched the t-shirt before it made it to your local department store. We often take for granted the simple things like a t-shirt even though it has crossed oceans so that the consumer (you) can wear it for a couple months until you grow out if or it goes out of style. But the truth is, a simple t-shirt and the clothing industry is the livelihoods of millions of people around the world. It is the way they make a living and survive. Here is a short video on how the t-shirt begins.

As you learned from the video, A T-shirt starts on a cotton farm, mostly from the US where we export the most cotton than any other country in the world. Although slavery was the dominant way to farm since the founding of the nation, we have now switched to other means to farm involving large amounts of cotton using technology. Since the 1950’s cotton yields have almost tripled from the use of technology such as machines that bail cotton and haul it. It is an industry that has grown exponentially and continues to grow today.

The cotton then leaves the United states and is exported to countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh and Columbia. This is when the cotton becomes a usable fabric. Spinning factories take the cotton and lay it into sheets that are then straightened and pulled. It is then stretched and twisted and created into yarn. The yarn is then made into fabric where it is once again washed and dyed. All of this is done with little to no human labor. This is where technology like large machines help get the job done with efficiency.

The t-shirts then move on to the final phase of production where people in factories, mostly women stitch the t-shirt together. The t-shirts are made all over the world and have a different impact on the lives of the people who make them.

To provide for their families, many people in the clothing industry work for low wages for long hours in factories. They face extreme poverty and mostly live on a day to day salary that pays just enough for food and maybe some other essential items. If it wasn't for the clothing industry many of these workers in developing countries would be unemployed and possibly struggling even more just to get by. It is the work that they put in at the factories that allows them to provide for themselves.

In countries like Bangladesh and Columbia, the garment industry can provide many workers a glimpse of stable income. This will help them get by and meet daily needs such as food and water. According to the neoliberal perspective of IPE, this form of capitalism is helpful for everyone involved. The clothing industry will make a profit by shipping production to developing nations, the consumer will be able to purchase the clothing, and the people working in the factories can make a salary. Everyone wins.

While the clothing industry may help the people working in factories, capitalism also brings to light controversies that many structuralists argue is an exploitation of the workforce. Many people work in sweatshops and earn money based on their daily work. Having a stable job in a factory allows them to buy products, improve their standard of living, and provide for their families. Others will disagree and say that the workers are exploited and barely have enough money to get by.

The people that work in factories are often hurt by the working conditions there. In April of 2013, a factory on the outskirts of Bangladesh collapsed killing 1,138 people. This tragic event reflects the unsafe working conditions of most factories that people work in and the need for large corporations to take this as a serious issue. 90% of those workers were women. These stats aim to show that inequality that exists in factories and the dangers that the factories pose must be taken into consideration when putting people to work.

Many women in developing countries tend to work in the garment industry more so than men. This in turn raises questions of gender equality and the way that it is viewed all over the world. Women tend to be looked at lower in society especially in developing nations. They are often viewed as an economic burden. It is more difficult for them to get the same rights and equal opportunities as men who work and are not able to have the same jobs that a man does. The same education rights and basic human rights in some of these countries is based on your gender. Although the clothing industry may allow an outlet for women to work in factories more recently, it is still extremely difficult for women to provide for their families as men do.

Another aspect of the clothing industry that is being looked at more recently with the climate crisis is the environment. Clothing, like other products, has a major impact on the environment and must be reconsidered if we wish to protect our planet. The cotton that is used to make the clothes for example are made from genetically modified seeds. Altering seeds to produce more yields and be pest-resistant has been met with opposition. People are beginning to question the safety of using GMOs. The cotton that is used to touch our skin must be safe, but large corporations put aside these details to make a profit.

Other aspects of the environment are the creation of clothing factories that create pollution in developing countries. The pollution is harming the health of the workers and the people of the entire country. Not to mention all the waste that comes from discarded clothing. According to The World Resource Institute, a garbage truck of clothes is burned or landfilled every second. This is a lot of waste coming from clothing that harms the environment.

People are beginning to pay attention to all the problems that the clothing industry has created. Where your t-shirt comes from, who makes it, the way it is disposed of, are all questions that people want answers to. The clothing and fashion industry must change the way that clothes are sourced, produced, and consumed.