Customer Reviews

Where am I Wearing: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you're looking for a fluffy, easy to read narrative on this subject, then buy this book. If you want a thought provoking work that truly addresses the issues then this is not the book to buy. This book reads as a narrative of "I went here, and I saw this" written in very mediocre language by a self-professed "beach bum." There is little, if any research aside from the author traveling to the places and speaking with workers. While the book is very enjoyable to read, it's very light on the facts, and unfortunately I was left feeling unfulfilled by the end. A great into to the topic of the global clothing market, but don't expect to learn much from this book.

This outstanding, unassuming book should not be missed--it is worth reading and discussing in every household and classroom in America. Do you know where your clothes were made, by what types of people and under what circumstances? Do you care? Should you care? This intriguing book looks into these issues and more, yet its tone is refreshingly accessible and unpreachy.

All-American Kelsey Timmerman noticed that his typical ensemble of T-shirt, jeans, boxers, and flip-flops, all bore tags declaring their foreign manufacture in places such as Honduras, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and China. His curiosity and his experience as a travel writer coincide in a mission to visit the places and meet the people who actually made his clothes. With a backpack, notebook, camera, the clothes on his back, and a mixture of guileless intelligence, he set out to explore the globalization of the garment industry, up close and personal.

His approach is to minimize the intrusive effects of his inquiry into the factories' operations and the lives of the workers by keeping his visits as unofficial as possible. He is just an ordinary guy who happens to be interested in the origin of his underwear. Although he has heard about sweatshops, child labor and unfit working conditions, he wants to see for himself. He wants to know if it's possible to be an informed, engaged consumer. His journey helps us see that we can all be better informed. The people who make our clothes all have names, faces, needs and dreams.

"[In Bangladesh] Asad leads us past a high table with neat stacks of cloth. A few of the workers standing around the table hold what appear to be giant electric bread cutters with blades two-feet long. One woman marks the cloth using a pattern and then sets to slicing. She cuts the outline of a T-shirt. Plumes of cotton dust fill the air...the factory is clean, exits are marked, and fans maintain a nice breeze. The conditions seem fine. They are much better than I had expected, and I'm relieved."

In Cambodia, eight young women garment workers share an 8' by 12' room that has a squat toilet and a water spigot. They earn between $45 and $70 per week and send home as much as possible to support family members in the countryside. Many of them miss the culture of family and village but they are well aware of the necessity of their work to their families' survival.

Seeing these and many more disparities between the lives of foreign garment workers and the lives of average American consumers, Timmerman is guarded about sharing details of his life with those he interviews. However, he eventually decides that "not knowing is the problem" on both sides. When he tells the Chinese couple about his first--and second--mortgages, they find unlikely solidarity in their mutual states of indebtedness.

This book is far from a "them" and "us" comparison and guilt trip. There are many complicated issues interwoven here, to be considered and discussed. The warp and woof of economic and social pluses and minuses is a constantly changing pattern, and the questions--what and where to buy, how to support or protest industry conditions, how to maintain American jobs, how to influence human rights--necessitate the participation of what the author terms "engaged consumers."

Where Am I Wearing? gives an excellent starting point for discussions in order to make informed decisions, as we determine a responsible course as the leading consumers of garments and other manufactured goods in the worldwide economic balance.

This is one fantastic book. "Where am I Wearing" is a thought-provoking book that raises more questions than it answers -- but that's Timmerman's main thrust: economic justice is a tricky business, with few black or white answers. Timmerman comes across as a very likeable, average American -- not an academic type at all. His profiles of those who make our clothing are riveting. Anyone interested in social justice, clothing or crazy road trips should read this book. I just hope Timmerman writes a sequel -- maybe, "Where am I Eating."

I have just finished reading one of the most provocative books I have ever come across. This book left me intrigued and fascinated with where my clothes are made. Not only that, but it left me wanting to know the origin of everything I use on a daily basis. I doubt anyone could leave this book without feeling the need to do something.

"Where am I Wearing" chronicles author Kelsey Timmerman's journey through the companies, factories, and people who make his clothes. His journey takes him from Honduras to Bangladesh, from Cambodia to China, and back home again to a company and factory in the United States. "Sweatshop" is not an unfamiliar word to anyone in America. Yet Mr. Timmerman leaves his tour with a much different view of the word and the garment industry than the reader expects.

Through his journey, Mr. Timmerman poses questions and proposes solutions that aren't typical of the garment-industry protester. In fact, he sets himself apart from these protesters by having actually visited the factories and met the people who make his clothes. As a homeschooling mom, Mr. Timmerman leaves me desiring to take a similar journey with my children. It's an experience every American could use in their lifetime.

The reader should be aware that reading "Where am I Wearing" might be uncomfortable. It might force you to look at your own life differently, and it will likely move you to action of some sort (even if just to look at your own tags before you get dressed in the morning).

Mr. Timmerman took a chance when he jumped on a plane to Honduras. It was a chance worth taking as he has produced a well-written, thoughtful book that is WELL worth the read.

A good book that explores the realm to which many have never seen before: the garment factories. Also, the story provides its readers with an up close view of the effects of globalization throughout the world. An easy read for a snowy or rainy weekend.

This book was assigned to my son for an AP class he is taking. I was worried that the class would be to much, so I read the book first. I couldn't put it down and read it all in one evening. The author is careful to present the human aspects of "It's a Small World After All" He introduces us to the people who make the clothes we wear everyday. He presents their lives just as they are, almost as if he stepped back in time to the late 1800's here in America. He reminds the reader that working hard for little money is better than not working at all. That most developing countries go through a development stage, where each generation works hard in hopes that the next generation will have more. That time is slow and so is progress. I only hope that the rest of my son's AP class is as good as this first assignment. This is not a dry book of numbers or preachy.

I am a retail marketing student and recently had to read this for a class. It really opens your eyes to both the good and bad of garment manufacturing abroad. Very informative AND interesting!

I read this book for a Social Welfare class last semester (Aug-Dec 2010) and it was definitely something I wasn't to interested in before I started. Once I got started though, I couldn't stop. Like the critical reviews say its not terribly scientific research. But it is a great in depth look at the lives of the REAL people who make the clothes we mindlessly wear every day. I went to China a few weeks after I finished reading the book and it helped give me a different perspective when it came to talking with the people there. This book is a cultural eye-opener.

I had to read this book for my Social welfare class and ended up loving it! Once I started reading it, it was hard to put down. I have suggested it to many friends. A great book!

I spent quite a bit of time talking with Kelsey before reading his book. He is very sincere. After reading the book, I found I was much more cognizant of where my clothing was coming from. While I do not know how to solve the problems confronted by the underpaid workers who make my clothing, I now see them as real people. They are not just mindless beings doing what none of us would do. They are real people trying to make things better for their children just as we do. Thanks so much, Kelsey, for giving these people a face.

As to the book, it was easy to read, amusing at times, and sad at others. I liked the informal language of the book. It was very straight forward in what it was trying to get across. It was not a dissertation of facts. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks we are not a part of the global market.