Unbranded – Page 4 – followthethings.com

Posted on August 28, 2024January 28, 2025 by Ian Cook

Where Am I Wearing?

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Fashion

“Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour To The Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes“
A non-fiction book written by Kelsey Timmerman and published by Wiley.
Google Books preview embedded above.

Self confessed ‘All-American Guy’ Kelsey Timmerman is curious about the ‘Made in…’ tags in his favourite clothes. He wants to go to those countries and meet the people who made them for him. So he sets off around the world to meets workers in each place. But he doesn’t work alongside them or quiz them about their pay and conditions. He wants to get to know them as people. So, in Bangladesh, they go bowling together. In Cambodia, they ride a roller-coaster. He wants to appreciate how globalisation isn’t abstract, but it happens to regular (if impoverished) people. He’s not trying to ‘nail’ a corporation. He doesn’t have strong moral views. He sees himself as an innocent abroad, a ‘touron’ (tourist + moron). Readers say this social justice meets crazy road trip book is friendly, funny, easy to read and not at all preachy. Some say everyone should go on a trip like this to appreciate who made their stuff too. What Timmerman has written either naively skims over, or brilliantly introduces, complex trade (in)justice debates. Maybe this is the best way introduce new readers to these debates? Does an example of trade justice activism have to include everything? Where do you start?

Page reference: Emma Baker, Eleanor Bird, Gemma Crease, Imogen Crookes and Coralie Sucker (2012) Where Am I Wearing? followthethings.com/where-am-i-wearing.shtml (last accessed: <insert date here>)

Estimated reading time: 54 minutes.

Posted on August 28, 2024January 27, 2025 by Ian Cook

The 2 Euro T-Shirt – A Social Experiment

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Fashion

ACTIVIST VENDING MACHINE

CHANGE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

“The 2 Euro T-Shirt – A Social Experiment“
A repurposed vending machine & film made for Fashion Revolution Germany by BBDO & Unit9.
Uploaded to YouTube & embedded in full above.

To mark the second anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fashion Revolution activists in Germany placed a t-shirt vending machine in a public square in Berlin. Shoppers were invited to insert ‘only 2€’ to buy a t-shirt. Before it was dispensed, however, the machine showed them a short film about ‘Manisha’, one of millions of people working in the sweatshops where it could have been made. Shoppers were then presented two options: to get the t-shirt or to donate the 2€ they inserted to the Fashion Revolution movement. Would ‘people care when they know’? Especially at the ‘point of sale’. That was the experiment. The vending machine filmed shoppers as they decided. What were their reactions? What did they choose to do? The YouTube video went viral. What would you do? Buy or donate?

Page reference: Olivia Boertje, Jo Ryley, Alec James, Tori Carter, Becky Watts and Rachel Osborne (2016) The 2 Euro T-Shirt – A Social Experiment. followthethings.com/the-two-euro-t-shirt-experiment.shtml (last accessed <add date here>)

Estimated reading time: 80 minutes.

Posted on August 28, 2024January 26, 2025 by Ian Cook

The Song Of The Shirt

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Fashion

1843

UNBRANDED

SHIRT

MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN

WORN IN GREAT BRITAIN

POEM

POP THE BUBBLE

SHOW CAPITALIST EVILS

“The Song Of The Shirt“
A poem written by Thomas Hood, published in Punch magazine.
Original publication in Punch included above.

Curiosity and concern about the poverty of the people who make everyday commodities is as old as capitalism itself. One of the most iconic and influential examples in this genre is a poem called ‘The Song Of The Shirt’ which was published in the satirical British magazine Punch in 1843. This was 24 years before Karl Marx published the first volume of Capital, with its famous opening chapter on the commodity. The subject of the poem is a woman working in East London making linen shirts for the city’s well-to-do men. It contains lines that wouldn’t be out of place in Twenty-First Century trade justice activism: ‘Oh Men, with Sisters dear! O! Men! With mothers and wives! It’s not linen you’re wearing out. But other creatures’ lives’. ‘The Song Of The Shirt’ went viral through the media of its time, being reprinted and discussed in countless newspapers, pamphlets and books across Great Britain and overseas, often with accompanying illustrations of its subject at work. It also crossed over into ‘Song Of The Shirt’ paintings, songs and plays. But how did the poverty of seamstresses come to the surface, here, at this time? How did this poem become so popular and influential? What can we learn from it today?

Page reference: Rachael Midlen & Charlotte Brunton (2014) The Song Of The Shirt (taster). followthethings.com/the-song-of-the-shirt.shtml (last accessed <add date here>)

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes.

Posted on August 28, 2024January 5, 2025 by Ian Cook

Confessions Of An Eco-Sinner

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Fashion | Grocery

“Confessions Of An Eco-Sinner”
A non-fiction book by journalist Fred Pearce.
Available to preview on Google Books (embedded above).

British journalist Fred Pearce travels 180,000 miles, to over 20 countries, to meet the people who produce (and sometimes recycle) the prawns in his curry, the cotton in his shirt, the computer on his desk, the gold in his wedding ring, and many other things. He wants to explore his own personal ecological footprint, and to work out whether he should be ashamed and/or proud of the impact that his shopping has on the world. This is classic ‘follow the thing’ research. A quest narrative. Starting in the Global North. With a person asking ‘who made my stuff?’ They travel the world to meet the people who they rely upon and then reflect on what this means for them (and maybe you) as a ‘consumer’. This is an approach that critics within the ‘follow the thing’ genre would like to ‘de-centre’. This work could start somewhere else! But what can readers learn from Fred’s travels nonetheless? Is everyone, unknowingly, an eco-sinner like he is? And what can be done to prevent the damage that consumption causes, out of sight and out of mind?

Page reference: Robert Black, Naomi Davies, Tom Mead, Pete Statham, Lucy Taylor and Laura Wilkinson (2011) Confessions Of An Eco-Sinner. followthethings.com/confessions-of-an-ecosinner.shtml (last accessed <insert date here>)

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes.

Posted on August 28, 2024January 5, 2025 by Ian Cook

Behind The Leather

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Fashion | My Shopping Bag

“Behind The Leather“
An activist stunt by Ogilvy and Mather Advertising, Bangkok for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia.
YouTube video embedded above.

A new luxury store called ‘Leather Works’ opens at the high end CentralWorld mall in Bangkok selling coats, ties, gloves and bags. Shoppers come in to browse. As they touch and try them on, they see flesh, bones, muscles and sinews inside. As they open the handbags, there are beating hearts too. Shoppers get blood on their hands. This leather was clearly ripped from the bodies of crocodiles, snakes, lizards and other ‘exotic’ animals. It’s like a scene from a horror film. Shoppers recoil in shock. These luxury leather goods are disgusting. The video goes viral. Behind this shopping prank is an NGO called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather who made it all for them. PETA’s Asia office wants to draw attention to the cruel conditions under which ‘exotic’ animals are farmed and butchered for luxury leather fashion. But how genuine, how ethical, can a ‘hidden camera’ stunt like this be? What can these shock tactics do?

Page reference: Ian Cook et al (2024) Behind The Leather (taster). followthethings.com/behind-the-leather.shtml (last accessed <insert date here>)

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes.

Posted on August 19, 2024January 6, 2025 by Ian Cook

The Forgotten Space

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Ship my order

TEACH ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

KNOW YOUR HISTORY

START SOMEWHERE DIFFERENT

“The Forgotten Space“
A documentary film / film essay written & directed by Nöel Birch & Alan Sekula, produced by Frank van Reemst & Joost Verhey and narrated by Alan Sekula for Doc-EyeFilm & WILDart Film Vienna.
Trailer and pay-per-view stream embedded above. Search online for other streaming options here.

So much attention is paid in trade justice activism to producers and consumers, where they live and work, how their lives are connected, how they might be responsible for one another’s lives and lifestyles. But there’s more to the world economy than that. There are plenty of other people and places that make it tick, each with their own concerns and struggles over ethics, justice and sustainability of one kind and another. The Forgotten Space that’s the subject of this documentary film is the sea, and the thousands of container ships that are constantly moving between ports carrying 90% of the commodities that are sold on the world market. This is a whole other world of trade and trade justice, a world that connects the places and the people that virtually all trade justice activism seems to concentrate on. One of its directors – Alan Sekula – is best known as a photographer and, just before embarking on this project, had published a celebrated photo book set at sea called Fish Story. He and co-producer Nöel Burch shared a fascination with perceptions and ideologies of the sea, travelled on board container ships, hung around at the ports they connected, filmed the people they met there – working and protesting – as well as in some of the factories whose goods were being sent in the containers on board. There are two things that are notable about this film. First, it’s about the ‘forgotten space’ of the sea – as mentioned – and sits the viewer amongst the containers on board ship as they are taken slowly across vast seas to deliver their precious contents. But, second, it’s not a straightforward documentary. It’s more of a ‘film essay’ which Sekula narrates, and which is illustrated by the footage that’s included. It’s fascinating, often bleak and beautifully shot. Lots of viewers seem to appreciate the lesson that they have been given. They like Sekula’s polemical and pessimistic Marxist approach – making visible a whole new group of unseen labourers at sea and crises of capitalism that container shipping so vividly illustrates – along with the film’s surprising, sometimes sweet meanderings. Commenters like his open and generous interest in the lives of people he meets. And this leads to some fascinating discussion about how a bleak Marxist understanding of trade is perhaps easier to convey through photography, while the moving image is more unruly and briefly shows glimpses of happiness and humour.

Page reference: Rachael Midlen, Rosie Cotgreave, Lowenna Carlson, Nacim Meziane, Floss Flint & Alex Manley (2024) The Forgotten Space (taster). followthethings.com/the-forgotten-space.shtml (last accessed <insert date here>) groupa a

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes.

Posted on August 19, 2024January 9, 2025 by Ian Cook

Sorry We Missed You

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Ship my order

SHOW CAPITALIST EVILS

EMBODY EXPLOITATION

HUMANISE WORKERS

CREATE A CHARACTER

INCLUDE SUFFERING KIDS

ENCOURAGE EMPATHY

“Sorry We Missed You“
A feature film written by Paul Laverty & directed by Ken Loach for 12 production companies including BBC Films & Canal+.
Official trailer embedded above. Search online to streaming options here.

‘Ricky and his family have been fighting an uphill struggle against debt since the 2008 financial crash. An opportunity to wrestle back some independence appears with a shiny new van and the chance to run a franchise as a self employed delivery driver. It’s hard work, and his wife’s job as a carer is no easier. The family unit is strong but when both are pulled in different directions everything comes to breaking point’ (Source: Anon 2019, np link).

Page reference: Ian Cook et al (2024) Sorry We Missed You (holding page). followthethings.com/sorry-we-missed-you.shtml (last accessed <insert date here>)

Estimated reading time: tbc minutes.

Posted on August 17, 2024January 5, 2025 by Ian Cook

Plastic Bag

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My shopping bag | Recycle my waste

2017

UNBRANDED

SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAG

CHANGE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

MAKE THE HIDDEN VISIBLE

“Plastic bag“
A short film directed by Ramin Bahrani and narrated by Werner Herzog for ITVS.
Published on YouTube, embedded in full above. Search online for other streams here.

Remember those thin plastic bags that used to be available, free, at the checkout? This is the starting point for Ramin Beahrani’s short film. What lives do they lead after the shopping is emptied from them at home? And what if one of them could tell that story for itself (in a droll Bavarian accent)? What would it say? It’s exciting to have finally been chosen, there at the checkout, to fulfil your destiny. To help a shopper carry their shopping home. The shopper-bag relationship is short-lived, but beautiful. But what if she then uses you to pick up her dog’s poo? And put you in a bin? How would you feel about her then, as your life continued, further and further away from hers? You’re not the slightest bit biodegradable. Your life is going to last for ever, starting in a landfill dump. What’s it like to be there with millions of bits of other trash? Imagine being caught in the wind, blown through the countryside, travelling hundreds of miles, and ending up in the sea, with the fish, possibly causing them all kinds of problems. Who and what might you have seen and met on your journey? What would you ponder about your life now its purpose is so far in the past? It’s a silly and unbelievable plot, but a wonderfully moving film. Viewers are surprised to find themselves empathising with a plastic bag. Caring about its fate. How its life could have been different. Maybe this is the best way to change people’s minds about the mountains of waste created by capitalism and its commodity culture. See what you think…

Page reference: Molly Healy, Josephine Thompson, Daisy Aylott, Lily Andrews, Kate Ward, Charlotte Rooker, James Swain, Edward Denton & Ethan Langfield (2024) Plastic Bag (taster). followthethings.com/plastic-bag.shtml (last accessed <insert date here>)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes.