The World in a T-Shirt

U.S. Town's Economy Shifts Away from T-Shirt Business()  

April 28, 2005 Until recently, Florence, Ala., considered itself the T-shirt capital of the U.S. That was a few years ago, prior to a surge in cheap imports from China and other countries. Today, the T-shirt mills are all gone, along with all the jobs they once provided.

Summary

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Behind Shanghai's Boom Is a Simple T-Shirt()  

map of a t-shirt's travels

April 27, 2005 With the expiration of apparel quotas, China is expected to dominate the world T-shirt market. Many of those T-shirts are sewn in factories in and around Shanghai, China's busiest and fastest-growing city.

Summary

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

After 200 Years, U.S. Remains King of Cotton()  

Cotton bolls

April 26, 2005 Much of the world's cotton comes from Texas, even though it's not a particularly great place to grow the crop. Big subsidies and heavy technology and R&D spending have helped the United States dominate the global cotton trade for two centuries.

Summary

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Podcast + RSS Feeds

Podcast RSS

  • World
     
  • The World in a T-Shirt
     
 
 

NPR thanks our sponsors

Become an NPR Sponsor

Map of a T-Shirt's Travels
Enlarge Geoffrey Gaudreault, NPR

Many of the world's T-shirts begin life as cotton in Texas, before becoming T-shirts in places such as China. They re-enter the U.S. market for sale and are eventually shipped to third world countries such as Tanzania for resale.

Map of a T-Shirt's Travels
Geoffrey Gaudreault, NPR

Many of the world's T-shirts begin life as cotton in Texas, before becoming T-shirts in places such as China. They re-enter the U.S. market for sale and are eventually shipped to third world countries such as Tanzania for resale.

Book Excerpts

Author Pietra Rivoli

Author Pietra Rivoli

Note: Pietra Rivoli will appear at Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C., on May 7.

Read excerpts from The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, by Georgetown University economist Pietra Rivoli: