Clothes — A Daily Thread – Post 9

Do you ever think about them? The people? The ones who make your clothes?

When you see a country of origin on the label, do you ever stop to think about who they were and what their lives are like?

China, Bangladesh, India, Turkey, The Philippines, even the U.S.A.

Do you think about the person who picked the cotton… Or is that machines now? Wait, someone has to drive the machine, right? Did that same person plant the seed? Different machine? Then what? Did it go to a textile factory? How many people does it take? Are they happy?

Someone has to run the machines that make the thread and take the thread and make the fabric that is sewn together with thread that is made there or some other supply chain thread made by someone else who may not be happy and that then is sold to a brand that puts it on sale for a person like me but even that is a thread connecting back to the person who planted that seed and every other seed that came before it and… I think about them.

Did they get paid a fair wage? Enough to feed their kids? What is fair, there? Is that fair there or would it be fair anywhere? How are their kids doing? Are they hungry? Do they go to school? Will they grow up to do the same thing their father or mother does? Is that part of making shirts? Birthing a generation that will replace the shirt makers? Will those kids make shirts for my kids? Will those kids be hungry?

I ask these questions.

It makes me sad.

But, if I get my shirts that are made here in the United States, where is the cotton grown? What is the factory here like? Did they get a fair wage? Are their kids hungry? How much do I have to pay for a shirt to make sure no one is going hungry?

I think about this.

If I buy a t-shirt someone may be going hungry. If I don’t buy a t-shirt someone may be going hungry. Gah! I’ll buy the shirt!

$50? $100? Is that enough?

How much do I have to pay to make sure no one is beaten or abused or paid less that their labor is worth and that their kids are happy and full and going to school and getting a job where they can be paid a fair wage for a fair days work and that “fair” means to them what it means to me which is my kids won’t be hungry.

I don’t have answers. Only questions. Questions about a t-shirt that end up in exploitation and hunger because as a Black man in America I can’t ignore that this is the very reason I am a Black Man in America and not Africa because the thread that binds me to my ancestors can be stitched back to the desire for someone who wanted cheap clothing and a system that exploited humans to give it to them.

I think about this. You should too.