Blog 1
It’s Day 1 of the Be Green Challenge and I’ve already set foot in the infamous Forever 21. Fear not,
for nothing was purchased--I was merely tagging along with my housemate. I must admit, however,
that that was the first time in a while that I walked out empty-handed. It was a little easier to do after
having watched Made in LA and True Cost; I truly had a whole different perspective this time around.
I would check the tags of different articles of clothing and would find that much, if not all, of the pieces
were made in Vietnam; seeing this, all I could think and wonder about was how poor the working
conditions must be across the globe. At one point I turned over to my housemate, while holding a top,
and I told her that an underpaid worker must have received cents for having completed this article. I
was referring to the fact that workers in Haiti received 6 cents for producing an item that retailed for
$19.99 in the U.S. (Holstein et al). After having read over a few different articles, I’ve become aware
that working conditions in California aren’t exactly all much better. According to the Los Angeles Times,
workers were earning $6 in 2017--well below the minimum wage. Hopefully learning more about these
kinds of situations changes the way I shop altogether. I’m glad I was able to avoid succumbing to
Forever 21 today, but I know this challenge is going to be very tough over the next five weeks.
for nothing was purchased--I was merely tagging along with my housemate. I must admit, however,
that that was the first time in a while that I walked out empty-handed. It was a little easier to do after
having watched Made in LA and True Cost; I truly had a whole different perspective this time around.
I would check the tags of different articles of clothing and would find that much, if not all, of the pieces
were made in Vietnam; seeing this, all I could think and wonder about was how poor the working
conditions must be across the globe. At one point I turned over to my housemate, while holding a top,
and I told her that an underpaid worker must have received cents for having completed this article. I
was referring to the fact that workers in Haiti received 6 cents for producing an item that retailed for
$19.99 in the U.S. (Holstein et al). After having read over a few different articles, I’ve become aware
that working conditions in California aren’t exactly all much better. According to the Los Angeles Times,
workers were earning $6 in 2017--well below the minimum wage. Hopefully learning more about these
kinds of situations changes the way I shop altogether. I’m glad I was able to avoid succumbing to
Forever 21 today, but I know this challenge is going to be very tough over the next five weeks.
Holstein, Palmer, Ur-Rehman & Ito. “Santa’s Sweatshop: In a Global Economy, it’s Hard to
Know Who Made Your Gift – and Under What Conditions”. U.S. News and World Report.
Vol. 121. Issue 24. Dec 16, 1996. p. 50-54, 56-57, 60.
Vol. 121. Issue 24. Dec 16, 1996. p. 50-54, 56-57, 60.
Kitroeff, Natalie, and Victoria Kim. “Behind a $13 Shirt, a $6-an-Hour Worker.” Los Angeles
Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2017,
www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-forever-21-factory-workers/.
www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-forever-21-factory-workers/.
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