UNITE to NYC garment factory: You underpaid workers about $5 million

The garment industry in the U.S. started in the north-east, followed cheaper labor overseas, and eventually, for the most part, jumped our borders. I know that LA is still... [Read this entry]

The USA is a pucker and China is a hemorrhoid

I had someone email me today asking about where our clothes come from. Here’s the short answer: 97% come from outside of the U.S., mostly from China.
And here’s... [Read this entry]

Budweiser: Belgium for beer

I’ve probably drunk less than half-a-case of Budweiser in my life. I know, I know that’s very un-American of me and very, very un-Midwestern American of me. But... [Read this entry]

Unspeakably Uncivilized

I think sometimes news in other countries makes us feel more civilized. Makes us think, “That couldn’t happen here.” But it does. Anything unspeakable everywhere else happens... [Read this entry]

Lazy Muncie Rap

Forget about East Coast and West Coast rap. These fellas are bringing it straight to you from the Midwest Coast’s Rappin’ Capital of Muncie, Indiana, where I live.

The video... [Read this entry]

What’s your Wal-Mart ratio?

I live in Muncie, Indiana, a city of 70,000 and we have two Wal-Mart Supercenters. That makes our Wal-Mart ratio 35,000 to 1.
If you take into account Meijer... [Read this entry]

LA Garment manufacturers fail to comply with labor laws

The Made in USA label doesn’t always mean made under fair and legal labor conditions.
From Occupational Safety and Health Online:
The Labor and Workforce Development Agency announced that Economic... [Read this entry]

Michael Pollan’s call to Action: “Plant a garden!”

Author Michael Pollan (In defense of Food, The Omnivores Dilemma) recently wrote a call to action in the New York Times Magazine, including this little mid-paragraph nugget:
Sometimes you have... [Read this entry]

A belated early Happy Labor Day

Labor Day didn’t always end summer. Here’s an excerpt from WAIW? explaining:

Today is May 1st, Labor Day around the world for everyone except a few countries, including the United... [Read this entry]

Cleaning out my news story files

Prada – Made in Italy by imported Chinese workers (LA Times)
Excerpt:
Thousands of Tuscan factories that produce the region’s fabled leather goods are now operated and staffed by Chinese.... [Read this entry]