I. Two Views of Salaula

A. Pham: Post-9/11 claims of consumer citizenship and freedom
B. Can people without economic means be consumer citizens?
C. T-Shirt Travels: salaula trade is symbol of Zambia's victimization by structural adjustment
D. Hansen: salaula is about taste

1. System of provision: from production to consumption
2. History of used clothing
3. Central argument: structural conditions make salaula an attractive option, but it is also an opportunity for people to express agency in making fashion choices

a. Cut a fine figure
b. Possibility of brighter future
d. Not wear rags
d. Not an assault of the foreign on Zambia
e. Not imitation of West, but local transformation and incorporation of Western styles

E. How can we make sense of these two perspectives and think about a cultural economy of taste and style?
F. How can we analyze the global circulation of clothing, first as new, then as secondhand?

 

II. Patterns of Global Clothing Production

A. International Labor Organization, "Globalization Changes the Face of Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industries" (1996)
B. "The geographical distribution of production in the textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) industries has changed dramatically in the past 25 years resulting in sizeable employment losses in Europe and North America and important gains in Asia and other parts of the developing world" (http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_008075/lang--en/index.htm).
C. Formal jobs --> informal jobs

1. Lower wages
2. Poorer working conditions
3. Rapidly changing demand patterns

D. 1996: "developing countries" made >60% of percent of world clothing exports

1. Asia produced 32% world clothing exports
2. First wave: South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
3. Second wave: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia
4. Third wave: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Nepal and Viet Nam

E. China produced 13% of the world supply
F. NAFTA --> Mexico leading exporter to US, which imported 24% of world's supply
G. Western Europe shifted production to Eastern and Central Europe
H. "Morocco, Mauritius, Tunisia and more recently Madagascar, have become important clothing producers which export most of their production to industrialized countries. African countries as a whole, however, have been little affected by the globalization of the TCF [textile, clothing, footwear] industries."

 

III. T-Shirts Travel

A. T-Shirt Project: NPR, Planet Money (2013)
B. Cotton: http://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/cotton
B. Machines: http://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/machines
C. People: http://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/people
D. Boxes: http://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/boxes
E. You: http://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/you

 

IV. Structural Adjustment

A. Policies imposed by creditors (World Bank, IMF) so that countries can repay debt
B. Stop protection of local industry, "liberalize" economy, cut government spending, promote "fair trade"
C. Developing economies tended to

1. Shield domestic industry from competition
2. Keep currency value high
3. Support social services

D. Adjustment measures include:

1. Cut government spending
2. Sell off state-owned industry
3. Develop exports to earn foreign currency to pay debts
4. Reduce tariffs on imports to encourage free trade and open local markets
5. Stop protecting local industry
6. Devalue currency to make products more attractive on world markets
7. Increase interest rates
8. Eliminate subsidies and price controls, such as those on basic necessities or industrial inputs

E. Effects

1. Inflation, it takes more local money to buy things than before
2. Reliance on key exports, crops or raw materials exposes economy to global volatility (copper in Zambia)
3. Industry can't afford foreign equipment

F. Salaula trade

1. Local garment industry is unable to compete globally with more efficient producers
2. Unable to compete locally with used clothing which, because it starts out free, is cheaper than other imports
3. Zambian manufacturers claim that Structural Adjustment and presence of salaula have destroyed them

G. Hansen's counter-argument

1. Garment industry has its own problems: poor quality, high prices, poor management
2. People's purchasing power has declined
3. Salaula and garment industry problems are both symptoms of poor economic situation
4. Explore niche manufacturing, but industry isn't yet export-ready
5. Salaula is popular because it solves two problems

a. Need for diverse array of clothing
b. Income for unemployed or underemployed

H. Creativity of secondhand clothing trade: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/12/10/247362140/the-afterlife-of-american-clothes, Planet Money's T-Shirt Project