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How much did that $6 t-shirt really cost?

January 15th, 2009 Mary K. - Central

By now we all know about carbon footprints, global warming, buying and eating locally, and making green choices.  But what do we know about the things we use everyday, such as computers, clothing, and fuel?  British science writer Fred Pearce set out to find the origins of some of those things for his book Confessions of An Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff.  And the results of these searches are surprising in some cases.

Pearce traveled the world to investigate some of these everyday things, and while the origin and manufactuing of some of them was problematic, there were often positive aspects as well.  For example, growing green beans in Kenya for the British market seems wasteful and expensive.  But this farming project has greatly improved life for the farmers and workers.  And surprisingly, the Fair Trade program, that makes us all feel better about purchasing coffee and chocolate, still does not pay the farmers a fair wage, even though the prices they receive are somewhat higher than they would normally receive.

This is a book to dip into, some sections will appeal more than others.  I found the chapters about recycling and reusing very interesting.  Another example from the book, what happens to the piles of inexpensive clothing that we buy and discard?  There is too much of it for the second hand shops to handle so It turns out that some of it is sent to third world countries and distributed.

After documenting many huge problems: child labor, sweatshops, lack of clean drinking water, and destruction of rain forests, for example, Pearce remains hopeful about the future of the planet and the human race.  He does give us a lot to think about the impact our choices as consumers have here and in the rest of the world.

Entry Filed under: Nonfiction