In the award winning book, ‘Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade,’ Pietra Rivoli tracked the making of T-shirts as it traveled from American cotton farms to Chinese factories, finally arriving on a showroom in Ft. Lauderdale – and all of the tariffs and protective barriers in between.
The BBC now completes the circle, as they describe how used T-shirts donated in England are purchased by global rag traders and end up being sold in Zambia as ‘salula’ – clothing millions and employing thousands. This final leg of the trip is of course also riddled with duties and barriers.
Update: Thanks to Chito for correcting me and pointing out that Rivoli also looked at used clothing markets. She focused on Tanzania's mitumba, with some interesting findings. See her article in The Globalist.
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