Blog #1 by Yee Xiong

In a world that thrives on capitalism, it is important to remember the drawbacks from high-end designs. Even the computer that I own came somewhere from the other side of the world by sweatshop laborers I will probably never get to meet in my lifetime. I became environmentally conscious a few years ago when I took a on a class project that dealt with the science and energy behind high end products such as Nike. After heavy research, my conscious became extremely guilty for every brand name product I ever purchased. I realized that high end products was the result of blood, sweat, and tears of workers trying to earn a few cents a day. Ever since this (rather late) realization, I became more conscious about what I bought and where I purchased my needs and wants. Brand names are what sell, and not quality items anymore; however, people can be loyal customers to brand names and this can be a political stance toward consumerism. Going on this "challenge" to be green is not much of a challenge for me since I have started before today. The last time I shopped was last summer when I was in London. However, I will continue on this journey to not participate in consuming items that are not a necessity or vital to my health. In Korzeniewicz's article, “Global Commodity Networks and the Leather Footwear Industry: Emerging Forms of Economic Organization in a Postmodern World”, he illustrates the local to international networks and how it works to help generate global commodity markets. To raise awareness about consumerism and to also challenge others to go green, here is an interesting and fun fact about how much water it takes to make every day items: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljmo1i0Tjz0 Sources: http://depts.washington.edu/ccce/assets/documents/pdf/NewBrandedPoliticalCommunication(BennettChapterFinal)61002.pdf http://www.casadosaber.com.br/sabermais/2657/Artigo_aula02.pdf