Book Review: Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli

by Rachel Teng

How far would you travel to investigate the making of a t-shirt? Sparked by an anti-globalisation protest in 1999 at Georgetown University where she taught, the book’s author spent six years digging into how a t-shirt is produced right down to its raw cotton origins. Beyond economics, this book is an easy read about the interconnectedness of capital – both financial and human – through the perspective of politics, culture, and the social impact of globalisation. (Photo credit: Keagan Henman on Unsplash)

It is widely recognized that peaceful protests are organised  as a means of raising awareness about a certain issue. To find out that an anti-globalisation protest in 1999 at Georgetown University witnessed by the author sparked her six-year journey to investigate the full production trajectory of a cotton t-shirt was astonishing. Even if one were  unfamiliar with economic concepts and purely interested in just reading about functioning of  globalisation, Rivoli’s book is an entry-level work of  non-fiction that traces the path of a simple cotton T-shirt across its journey from a raw piece of cotton in the fields of Texas, to its manufacturing at a factory in China, to its final stage of being sold in the United States (US) and, eventually, the extension of its life as a used clothing product or as a recycled mattress filler in Africa. This book brings the reader along the ups and downs of globalisation, accentuating the level of interconnectedness amongst states with an increased flow of trade, investment, and capital, including human capital as labour – through a nexus of perspectives ranging from politics, trade and economics, as well as culture and ethics. 

The journey begins with an old Walgreens cotton t-shirt from Florida that the author found stashed in her cupboard. As she starts digging into the origins of the t-shirt, she starts off the book with a history of the cotton industry in the 1950s, which was initially dominated by the US as a result of e national farm subsidies. While in violation of the World Trade Organisation’s trade rules, these circumstances effectively allowed the US cotton industry to be buoyant and remain competitive with a comparative advantage over its Asian or African competitors. At the same time, with industrialisation and technological advancements increasing productivity and lowering prices, there arose  a need for a massive supply of cotton at cheap labour costs. With the boom in demand, the US turned to its South American neighbours where its cheap labour force and availability of land provided the resources necessary for the mass production of cotton required to meet global demand. This is reminiscent of the extractive economic institutions in Acemoglu & Robinson’s Why Nations Fail where a bulk of available resources meant for the masses are utilised by a handful of cotton farmers who had growing political influence. The lack of market modernisation in India and China also contributed to the US becoming the world leader in cotton production. 

These themes of exploitation and dominance continue into the second part of the book, where the author explains that China sought to emulate the US’s approach by operating as an extractive economic institution for its cheap sweatshop labour in the textile manufacturing industry. Rivoli goes on to discuss the history of the textile industry. With China securing many trade agreements and support as a state-owned enterprise, the cheaper textile products made by China grew in popularity. A gradual decline in British textiles made from the local mills in India led to China eventually becoming the global leader in textile manufacturing. The British Industrial Revolution spurred high demand for textiles, and interestingly, while there were poor working conditions in China’s factories, the need for large supplies of labour provided the opportunity for women to be introduced into the manufacturing labour market. This led to the economic and social liberation of women towards the industrial sector with upgraded skills. Of the several downsides of globalisation, Rivoli also incorporated the issue of culture and female empowerment and how, albeit not in the best working conditions, women favoured globalisation seeing as it provided them with the opportunity to upskill and move away from the labour-intensive agricultural industry. 

Part I of the book discussed the resistance to creative destruction with the display of the lack of incentive to innovate under an extractive institution. This was elaborated in how the cotton farmers were unable to adapt to the genetically engineered cotton seeds to save their crops against pests. Moving to Part III of the book, Rivoli brings the reader through examples of how globalisation can be weaponized, with the US’s heavy-handed protectionist measures such as import restrictions, tariffs, and the quota system imposed in the textile and apparel industries. This demonstrates how political influence can have perverse impacts on trade and the economy, even when motivated by good intentions to protect domestic jobs and employment. This lavish protectionism was also how the US lost its competitive edge against China in the textile market. 

The last part of the book discusses the resale trading of t-shirts where the wealthy US suburbs provide most of the supply of second-hand t-shirts to fulfil the demand of poor countries. Though it shows the consumerism and capitalism of wealthy countries, it is heartening to see that there is an afterlife for these commodities, even as simple as a t-shirt in the global used-clothing industry or as innovative uses as rugs or fillers for automobile doors, mattresses or to provide insulation in homes. Even more delightful is how resale trading is boosting the African society and industry with “mitumba” – referring to used clothing fashion from the West, and even providing a positive environmental effect. Rivoli concludes the book on the moral case for trade, discussing the need for broader perspectives, that while the anti-globalisation activists argue against poor working conditions or environmental sustainability in their protests, there can be upsides from globalisation as well. Through her journey to discover how her cotton t-shirt was made, the author shared her insight that activists should take a step back sometimes to see the broader picture. In the case of a t-shirt, the author suggests that there could perhaps be a more balanced view taken, and that there could be more good than harm if one takes into consideration the effects from the entire supply chain process. 

Overall, the book was an enlightening read on how a t-shirt as a commodity can have an impact on the political, economic, and social aspects of so many states  along its various stages of harvesting to production and manufacturing, to retail sale and resale trading. My takeaway from reading the book is to appreciate the complexity of the production process required to obtain the products we consume and the downstream impacts they have after they have served their time for us. If we look at the broader picture, globalisation can have a tremendous social impact across the world beyond just politics and economics.

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Rachel Teng is a first-year M.S. student at NYU concentrating in International Relations and Global Futures. Her academic areas of interest include the hard and soft power relationship, impact of great power shifts on the defence diplomacy of city-states, and emerging technologies in the information realm. Rachel believes in a polymath mentality towards acquiring knowledge and is always happy to chat about a wide-ranging spectrum of issues to broaden her weltanschauung.

Works Cited

Rivoli, Pietra. Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade. 2nd ed., Wiley, 2015.