November 10, 2008 – Kelsey Timmerman encourages people to check the label this season, not just of the designer, but of the place of origin. It was the act of checking the label through which Timmerman became curious about the lives of the people who made his clothes. The tag on his favorite shirt read ‘Made in Honduras,’ but who were the people who made his clothes? What were their lives like? WHERE AM I WEARING? (Wiley, $24.95, December 2008) is the result of a quest to find out.
While the trend to buy local produce has started to spread across the country, few people are buying American made apparel. Conscientious consumers trying to minimize their global footprint prefer their bananas to come from their local farm rather than Honduras, without realizing that many of the clothes they purchase at the local Wal-Mart are produced there, and at a much lower cost than they would suspect.
Timmerman manages to put a personal face on the controversial issues of globalization and outsourcing by recounting his experience traveling to the countries his five favorite items of clothing were made. As Timmerman travels to factories in Honduras, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and China, Timmerman realizes a number of important things:
• Workers do not want Americans to boycott the products
• 85 people have a hand in making a single pair of blue jeans
• 97% of America’s clothing is imported
• China accounts for 30% of the world’s apparel exports
• The garment industry accounts for 75% of Cambodia’s and Bangladesh’s exports
Kelsey Timmerman is a freelance writer who focuses on globalization, travel, and the outdoors. He has spent the night in Castle Dracula in Romania, gone undercover as an underwear buyer in Bangladesh, played PlayStation in Kosovo, taught an island village to play baseball in Honduras, and in another life, worked as a SCUBA instructor in Key West, Florida. He lives in Muncie, Indiana. Continue the story at whereamiwearing.com
| For more information, contact: Cynthia Shannon (415) 782-3119 cshannon@wiley.com |
Where Am I Wearing: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes By Kelsey Timmerman Wiley; December 2008; $24.95 978-0-470-37654-6; Hardcover  |
| SHARE: |  |
 |
