Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes PDF
Preview Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes
Clothing Poverty about the author Andrew Brooks is a lecturer in development geography at King’s College london. his research examines connections between spaces of production and places of consumption, and particularly the geographies of economic and social change in Africa. Fieldwork has taken him to india, Papua new guinea and across Africa. research in Africa has included extensive investigations of markets and politics in Malawi and Mozambique as well as Chinese investment in Zambia. Clothing Poverty the hidden world of fast fashion and second-hand clothes Andrew Brooks Zed Books | london Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes was first published in 2015 by Zed Books ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, london N1 9JF, UK www.zedbooks.co.uk Copyright © Andrew Brooks 2015 the right of Andrew Brooks to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 Designed and typeset in Monotype Bulmer by illuminati, grosmont index by John Barker Cover designed by www.alice-marwick.co.uk All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books ltd. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British library ISBN 978–1–78360–068–7 hb ISBN 978–1–78360–067–0 pb ISBN 978–1–78360–070–0 pdf ISBN 978–1–78360–069–4 epub ISBN 978–1–78360–071–7 mobi Contents Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 1 A biography of jeans 9 2 Clothes and capital 39 3 the shadow world of used clothing 72 4 Cotton is the mother of poverty 100 5 Made in China and Africa 118 6 Second-hand Africa 142 7 Persistent poverty 161 8 old clothes and new looks 184 9 ethical clothing myths and realities 207 10 Fast-fashion systems 233 Notes 253 Further reading 277 index 279 Acknowledgements there was no single moment or event that led me to write an accessible book on globalization and the clothing trade. the idea developed as i studied, worked and researched in different places, from my small office in london to sprawling markets in southern Africa, until it had become something that i felt would not only be interesting and important to write, but also something i knew i had to do. throughout time spent variously as a geography undergraduate and later a lecturer at King’s College london, a volunteer in Papua new guinea, an international development worker, a graduate student at royal holloway, a field researcher in Zambia and Mozambique and elsewhere around the world, there have always been friends, family and colleagues who have offered encouragement, support and guidance, for which i am very grate- ful. Kim Walker and others at Zed Books have also always been very helpful. Any errors are of course my sole responsibility. For me, global poverty and inequality have always stood out as the defining issues of our time, yet it is frustrating how often work on these topics falls short of offering answers, a compelling argument or an engaging narrative. We have to work rigorously to understand how the world has changed and developed, yet in viii clothing poverty doing so try hard to make the analysis interesting and clear, as well as authoritative. My hope is that this book goes some way to bridging between the real experiences of the poor and the sometimes dry and introverted academic community, and tells a story of uneven development that is interesting for a broad audi- ence by discussing the hidden world of clothing through diverse and colourful examples, while maintaining a critical perspective. the work that follows, therefore, is one that draws on my experi- ences and knowledge and tries to deliver a message and discussion that others may learn from. in the pursuit of this goal, special thanks must go to David Simon and Alex loftus for their help and support, which inspired me to develop the project. introduction everyone knows that most Africans are poor. life expectancy is low, education is basic, food is simple, and clothes are few. Curving around the south-east coast of the continent, Mozam- bique has a typically African economy. Many Mozambicans are dependent on subsistence agriculture or low-value exports such as cashew nuts, cotton and indian ocean shrimps. Beneath the shrimps and the warm waters are rich natural gas reserves, which could fuel development, but these resources are more likely to be stolen or squandered overseas, as recent economic growth has contributed to rising inequality rather than a reduction in poverty. like much of Africa, Mozambique’s national budget is dependent on support from overseas aid, and the liberalized economy is wide open to both exports and imports. the capital, Maputo, is an important regional port 30 miles from South Africa. tree-lined avenues, a legacy of Portuguese colonialism, stretch out from the city centre towards poorer neighbourhoods. At the end of one of these avenues on the edge of the downtown is the sprawling and bustling Mercado do Xipamanine – Xipamanine market. on any weekday morning the entrance to Xipamanine market is crowded; minivans clog the narrow approach road and hawkers
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