For larger view of infographic, click here.
Video here.
References:
http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/stories/toxics/2010/textile-pollution-xintang-gurao/
https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/6283-The-denim-capital-of-the-world-so-polluted-you-can-t-give-the-houses-away
Shiva, Vandana. “Ecological Balance in an Era in Globalization.” The Globalization Reader. 3rd ed. N.p.: Blackwell, n.d. 465-73. Print.
-Christine Nguyen
I believe that this topic is very important when dealing with the ethics of trade and sweatshops. I like how you state your issue and also relate the issue to the concepts that we learned in class. The use of bleach and dumping that chemical and other chemicals into the Pearl River is very dangerous and disrespectful on the companies part because although the river may not be in U.S. territory, the river is still part of the environment of the world. Many companies need to remember that although they may not be ruining environments in their own country, they are ruining environments all around the world. Usually the environments that were beautiful before too. This is an important issue and I am glad that you are pointing it out.
I think you clearly laid out the issue and made an infographic that was super easy to follow and had some nice visuals. This idea of deregulation as a result of globalization and its environmental impact is one of the most interesting issues to me. There is such irreparable damage being done to the local environment and thus people by these transnational corporations. It also is incredibly depressing that it seems that nearly every product we consume has a similar back story with environmental destruction/sweatshops. However, I wish you would have went into more specifics and details. Some actual numbers or hard hitting facts would’ve been great.
I took your advice and added some more to my infographic. Thanks for the suggestion, Cole!
I am really glad you made an infographic about this and laid out some of these terrifying facts in an easy to understand format. I own several pairs of blue jeans and I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about where they came from until I started learning about global trade in the class. It is even more concerning to know that they are not only coming from unethical sweatshops due to the unjust labor practices, but are also unethical because of the environmental pollution that they create. Overall, you did a great job with this inforgraphic!
I especially liked the middle section of this infographic, the easy to read format and presentation really made the statistics stand out. It’s very sad to me that the environment is the one thing we all share, yet so easily thrown away – it’s offensive how Western corporations also probably take into account that people likely won’t notice/care, since the pollution is happening “over there”, or that the people there don’t have the power to resist the degradation of their homelands.
I think you took on a really interesting issue that we, as Western consumers, don’t tend to think about. Your infographic was easy to follow and I liked how you addressed the topics we talked about in class in a simple and direct sentence. I think something that would have been a nice addition to your topic, would be solutions. We all know shopping for cheaper clothes comes at the price of our environment and poor working conditions, I would like to know what companies produce textiles in a safe condition that harms neither worker or planet.