Everybody loves a tee-shirt, but for this guy, his t-shirt was the beginning of a journey. Where Am I Wearing.com is a site put together by a guy from America who came up with an interesting idea-to travel to the places where his clothes were made. The video above is his explanation of his quest.
Kelsey Timmerman, the aforementioned “guy”, put his anthropology degree to use while offering his readers a his unique viewpoint as he visited garment workers in Honduras, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and China, and documented his thoughts and experiences as he went. For anyone interested in the global garment industry, this site is definitely worth exploring.
His video quotes the song “Mad World“, a song made popular by the band Tears for Fears in the 80’s, (hear the song as it’s meant to be by clicking here):
“All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races, going nowhere, going nowhere……I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it’s a very, very mad world.”
He also quotes the song “Yahweh” by U2. (Listen by clicking here).
“Take this shirt, polyester white trash made in nowhere,
Take this shirt, and make it clean, clean
Take this soul, stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul, And make it sing”
Pictures of Bibi Russell, the supermodel turned designer who runs Fashion for Development to uplift the local handloom industry in Bangladesh, are juxtaposed downtrodden workers-a confusing but realistic view of the ups and downs of the global garment industry. Upon further investigation, his site includes a radio interview with Ms. Russell, so he obviously knows what good work she’s doing. She apparently figures prominently in his book about his adventures.
Timmerman has yet to visit Sri Lanka, but Garments Without Guilt is in touch with him, and we are sure we’ll make a good impression with our guilt-free fashions!
June 15th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Kelsey has a B.A. in anthropology from Miami University. Over 3 years ago he became interested in the question: “Where Am I Wearing?” Since then he has devoted considerable time and energy gathering information and personal accounts regarding the lives of workers at the intersection of globalization and the apparel industry. Personally, in the past, I didn’t give a second thought about where my clothes were made or the lives of the workers making them. I do now.
As Kelsey’s brother, I am proud to say that Wiley and Sons are publishing his book, “Where Am I Wearing?” this year.
Sincerely,
-Kyle Timmerman