A Pair of Jeans

Fairness and economy are illustrated with the example of the way a pair of jeans begins with cotton grown in Africa, then is manufactured before it is sent to a shop in your country. There are documentaries available that illustrate this. Textile manufacturing is increasingly globalized industry. The primary countries for production of jeans are: Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey, and Tunisia

30-60 minutes

room, paper and pens

5-30 people

global learning, sustainability, fair trade, consious consumerism

Related:

Goal

The aim is to raise awareness on the unfair conditions of worldwide collaboration as well as on the resource intensive global production.

Steps

The example of a pair of Jeans illustrates the global trade.

1. The way of a pair of jeans

Present the journey of a pair of jeans.
Ask, what your participants know about this topic.
Discuss in which way this production style might have an impact on
- people and
- environment?

2. Production conditions

The reasons that certain countries are favored for production usually entail:

disregard of workers’ rights
workers are often women and children
very long working hours (> 60 hrs. / Week) and low wages (not enough to cover basic needs)
poor safety and hygiene conditions
discrimination against women (they earn less than men).

Discussion:

Ask, how participants consider working conditions in their consumptive decisions.
Discuss, what would be fair conditions? What has fairness to do with sustainability?
How different are the environmental and working conditions in their country?

3. Value added chain of a pair of jeans

Look at the value added chain. What is surprising? What did you expect?
Where are the "adjusting screws" for making trade and consumption more fair and sustainable?

4. Conclusions

Ask, what kind of measures the actors within the society could and should undertake. In example:
- Consumers
- Activists/Civil Socoiety Organizations
- National regulation
- International regulation
- Companies

Reference

Arpine Galfayan, Sebastian Wehrsig, Nils-Eyk Zimmermann: Environment and Civil Involvement; How Can We Connect Sustainable Development Education and Active Citizenship Empowerment? ISBN 978-3-944012-01-8 Online
Data: Denimtarian

Nils-Eyk Zimmermann

Editor of Competendo. Coordinator of the project DIGIT-AL Digital Transformation in Adult Learning for Active Citizenship. Network Secretary of the DARE network. Topics: active citizenship, civil society, digital transformation, non-formal and lifelong learning, capacity building. Blogs here: Blog: Civil Resilience. Email: office@dare-network.eu

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