Description
The Travels of a T-Shirt in a Global Economy Part IV
Discussion Response
Original Post: Rivoli (2008) writes “It is only in this last chapter of the T-shirt’s life that world
trade patterns are fashioned by economics rather than politics” (p. 178). Do you agree or
disagree? Explain.
Also, share you impressions to the book, what did you like the best and the least.
This is the textbook link:
https://epdf.pub/travels-of-a-t-shirt-in-the-global-economy.html
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Each student is expected to complete an original post and at least two replies to separate
classmates for each question.
You should be on the discussion board three different times during the week.
The goal is to have meaningful discussion and feedback among students as defined here:
o Original Response: Post an original response, must be a minimum of 250 words and
incorporate the course material, relevant outside references, and or your personal
experiences properly cited both in text and at the end of the posting.
o Follow-up Responses: Each student must post responses back to those who posted to them
and the instructor. Thus, a complete discussion.
This is my original response:
I agree with Rivoli that the last chapter of his book “Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy”
is the only chapter in the T-Shirt life that is fashioned by economics rather than politics. From the
three parts of the book, the cotton industry is seen to rely on politics majorly. The prosperity of the
textile industry depended on federal money from Washington DC. Part three, chapter twelve,
majorly talks about President Barrack Obama and the 200 presidential races. There is talk of
devoting resources in the textile industry to boost its growth (Rivoli, 2008). The political world
had policies that fashioned the life of the T-shirt through these three chapters.
However, in the last part of the book, economics is the primary factor that controls T-Shirts’ life.
After the T-Shirt is thrown into the Salvation Army basket, it ends up in the markets of Africa for
cheap prices (Rivoli, 2008). On hitting the “mitumba” markets of Africa, the economy dominates
politics. The T-Shirt finally ends up in aiding the poor habitats of Africa. Contrary to revealing
good and bad politics, like in the previous parts of the book, the T-Shirts life is a light of hope in
the lives of people in this part of the book that Americans deemed as waste was considered a
luxury. The clothes were an income source for many in these markets’ from importers to traders
and tailors.
Generally, I think Rivoli’s book “Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy” is fascinating,
page-turning, and illuminating. It takes a rare powerful approach following the life of a T-Shirt
from the manufacturer to when it ends up in Africa. The story of the T-shirt is used to bring out
the main issues of the talk on globalization. The major topics of our current time have been vividly
brought out in this uniquely entertaining business book in a balanced, enlightening, and surprising
manner. Indeed, it is quite rare to find an author who brings out such strong points in an
interestingly creative way. I also found the book quite relevant. It portrays not only the world of
politics but also that of economics, which are the two major sectors that run the globe. However,
in some cases, the author goes into too much unnecessary detail, but I like it. Overall, this was a
good book to read.
References
Reinert, K. A. (2015). An Introduction to International Economics: New Perspectives on the World
Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rivoli, P. (2008). The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
Jordan response back to my original post. Now, your job is post responses back to them.
This is follow-up Responses: Jordan response my post
Great response! I also agreed that the last chapter of the book was fashioned by economies rather
than politics. I like how you made the connection between the beginning of the book and the end
of the book, you definitely seen the amount of politic within the book evolve chapter after chapter,
however at the end it takes a completely different turn. It was fascinating to see that they t-shirt
ended up in Africa after being at the Salvation Army, I know that I definitely did not see that
ending of the book occurring. Rivoli did do a fantastic job at writing the book and I can agree that
she did add a lot of unnecessary detail through the entire thing, I think maybe she should have spilt
the book into two books, a part 1 and a part 2. I think if she wanted all those details this would
have been her best approach, simple because she could have spent more time in each book
explaining better making it easier to understand. Would you agree?
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