Let the bidding begin

Apparently, there has been some time-warp continuum wormhole opened somewhere between here in England. Across the pond the hardcover version of WAIW? is up for sale on Ebay.

I haven’t seen a hardcover version of the book yet! Maybe I’ll bid.

Dov Charney on SNL

Anyone that would pose for this photo is an easy target for Saturday Night Live. Fred Armisen recently portrayed American Apparel CEO, Dov Charney, clad in green manties (man panties).

American Apparel just announced the creation of 2,500 jobs. That’s quite a feat on it’s own in this economy, but in the garment industry it is unheard of.

I mention American Apparel in WAIW? as an option for engaged consumers to consider. I also mention that Charney is quite a controversial figure. This poses an ethical conundrum for engaged consumers who are disgusted by Charney’s shenanigans. Beth Myers, Executive Director, of STITCH is wrestling with her decision to support American Apparel. She writes about it on the Labor Rights Blog.

Bailin’ on the Bailout

The question: Are our elected officials our puppets? Or are they individuals we entrust to do what’s right for the country?

Rep. Paul Ryan tries to answer the question as reported here:

“We’re all worried about losing our jobs,” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote. “Most of us say, ‘I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it — not me.’ “

Regardless of what you think, statements like that have to make you cringe. A politician should do one of two things here:

A) Vote against the Bailout because they think it’s wrong for the country.

B) Vote for the Bailout because they think it’s right for the country.

But to vote for A when they believe in B or vice versa because they might lose their job is, in a word, spineless.

Win a trip to watch girls in bikinis make jeans

Ecko jeans apparently spammed the Hot Girls Make Great Clothes thread. They posted about their contest where you can win a trip to watch hot girls make great clothes.

Is there really such a factory where perfect-bodied females happily work away while jiggling in all of the right places and none of the wrong ones as they sew on zippers? Where the only thing in shorter supply than unhappiness is butt-coverage? Where thirteen-year-old boys go when they fall asleep at night? Where beautiful girls with morals so strong that they would never stoop to the level of internet porn, bend over in thongs to pickup pieces of fabric?

If you believe there is, you must also believe that Charlie has a Chocolate factory, that pillow fights take place nightly in sororities, and that bears don’t shit in the woods.

They don’t go into details of what the trip entails or where you’ll win a trip too. Personally, I think it would be great if the winner won a trip to an actual factory and met actual workers.

Out of curiosity, I signed up for the contest. You should too.

Random thought…

Does anyone actually ever win these darn promotional contests? Seriously, McDonald’s has that stupid Monopoly contest running about eight months out of every year, and I don’t know a single person that has won more than a free small fry. Although, I did once win a bike from the local hardware store.

Bizzaro headlines

China Launches Space Walk Mission

Bush: “US Economy in Danger”

What once sucked is now awesome

The first time I heard Handlebars by the Flobots I thought it was pretty lame, “Who’s this cleancut Eminem-wannabe? And how can anyone ride a bike without handlebars?”

Now, for some reason I just can’t get enough of the song.

Is it a testament to the talents of the Flobots that their work grew on me or is this just a case of me losing a war of attrition with a catchy tune?

Fact Check

Recently, I wrote a sidebar for a nice big glossy magazine that I’ve never contributed to before. A week after I turned it in, the fact-checker called me. I gave him the sources of my info and we walked through the article “vetting” that puppy as if it were running for Vice President, perhaps better.

At one point in the piece I mention my favorite T-shirt that has Tattoo from Fantasy Island on it. He went to the website of the company that produced the shirt and couldn’t find it, and he expressed his concern regarding the existence of such a shirt.

I told him that it was about 5 years old, and I gave the thing away to Amilcar, one of the garment workers I met in Honduras. And that if he found one, to let me know because I would like to replace the one I gave away. I offered to send him a photo of me wearing the shirt, but he said that he would take my word for it.

Now that’s fact checking! Somebody give this fella a raise.

And to remove all doubt of the existence of my Tattoo T-shirt…

Bangladeshi workers attacked by ghosts

You live in a country without a government.

You earn $25/month.

The price of rice is increasing, but your wages aren’t.

And if that wasn’t enough, now ghosts are attacking you at work on your bathroom break.

From Bangladesh’s New Age newspaper (9/13/08):

The ghost panic

The so-called ‘ghost panic’ in factories first surfaced after a section of workers vandalised Diganto Sweater’s factory in Gazipur, following rumours of the deaths of a few workers as a result of ‘ghost attack’ in a toilet of the factory.

… Five workers of Diganta Sweater claimed that they saw ‘witches’ before they fainted inside factory’s toilet. They were taken to a nearby clinic where physicians found that none of them had sustained any injury.

What the Doctors are saying

‘They fainted because of weakness. I found that their blood pressure and heart beat was too low,’ said Abdur Rahman, chairman of Sheba Diagnostic Hospital.
He said his hospital treated, on an average, 100 garment factory workers suffering from anxiety-related illness every month.
‘Poor garment workers suffer mainly from malnutrition and anxiety, which make them weak and vulnerable to nervous breakdown,’ said Rahman.

What the supervisors are saying

‘Most garment factory workers lead sad or stormy domestic lives, which affects their behaviour in workplaces,’ Mohammad Hanif, who supervises about 3,000 workers at Shapla Garments, told New Age on Friday.
‘They are too weak because they cannot manage to eat regular meals either because of time constraint or because they simply fail to make both ends meet with whatever wages they get after such strenuous labour in the factories,’ said Hanif.
Most workers have to work for 10 to 14 hours a day and do not even get a chance to sit idle for a minute, he added.

The article goes on to describe some of the ghost attacks and how some are trying to remedy them with exorcisms.

A tip to the Bangladeshi garment industry: Less exorcisms, more food.

While it’s easy to make light of this situation - “simple, uneducated folks think they’re being attacked by ghosts in the bathroom, ha, ha” (heck, even the article calls them “mostly uneducated”), the reality in which this news tid bit exists is truly terrifying.

Sweatshop: The Video

Who knew industry could be filled with such innuendo? Apparently, Neon Neon.

Interview at Garments without guilt

Check it out.