Welcome to our Blog

Welcome!

This blog was created as a part of our Thinking Globally Project for English 341. The entries include our research outline and individual posts from each group member on their topic. You can see that we have divided our research into 5 statements of analysis. But first, you can watch this intro to the Simpsons:



There is a copy of our bibliography is posted on the right of this top page ---->

Enjoy!
The Tracing Products Group

The Big Bang Theory - The signal crossing the world

TRACING TEA

TRACING TEA

Ø  Premium Ceylon Orange Pekoe Tea, packaged in Sri Lanka, who is currently producing 22% of the world’s tea.   The loose leaves are packed in tins, batched, and dated on the bottom directly for export, specifically for the private Canadian company, Lee Valley Tools Ltd.

Ø  From the Dimbula region of Sri Lanka

Ø  To Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Colombo, (29th busiest port in the world, handling 4 million shipping containers in 2010)

Ø  By Container Ship through the Indian Ocean to the Andaman Sea

Ø  Through the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca past Singapore (2nd busiest port, handling 28.4 million containers) to the South China Sea

Ø  Through the South China Sea, past Hong Kong, (3rd busiest port, 23.7 million containers) to the Pacific Ocean

Ø  Through the Pacific Ocean, (past 7 Chinese ports, ranked from the 1st to the 11th busiest in the world, handling a combined total of 123 million containers) to the Port of Vancouver, BC, (50th busiest port, handing 2.5 million containers)

Ø  By Rail to Lee Valley Tools store in Ottawa, ON, where I order the tea via their web site

Ø  To United Parcel Service, Ottawa then Concord stations

Ø  Then to UPS Richmond, BC, then Kelowna stations

Ø  Finally to my door, on Baron Road, Kelowna.

Container shipping ports between Sri Lanka and Vancouver, Canada

1.Colombo      29th busiest port         4 million shipping

Sri Lanka         in the world                 containers in 2010

2.Singapore     2nd                            28.4

3.Hong Kong 3rd                              23.7

4.Shenzhen     4th                               22.5

5.Guangzhou 7th                               12.5

6.Ningbo         6th                               13

7.Shanghai     1st                               29

8.Qingdao       8th                               12

9.Tanggu        11th                             10*

10.Vancouver  50th                             2.5

*Chinese ports in bold, total shipping containers in 2010 = 123 Million.

Conclusion

Clearly the research that each individual group member has undertaken on their own has related in different ways to our chosen points of analysis. As a group we felt it was important to address each statement with our own individual research, as this would allow us to have a clearer view of how the individual products are connected to our analysis. For our class presentation, we will not have the time to go over each point of analysis in relation to all four products. The blog that we have created has also allowed us to individually present the information that we have been looking at, as well as synthesize and summarize our ideas.

            We plan on creating a PowerPoint centering on these five points of analysis to present to the class, and each group member will deal with a different point in relation to their individual product. This will allow us to demonstrate the globally connectivity of our research, without attempting to present all the information we have compiled. We will continue to use Robbins’ article “The Sweatshop Sublime” to frame our analysis, as Robbins’ suggests that by understanding where our products come from, we change the way we see ourselves and how we are implicated in the extraction of products.

As a group we feel the most important conclusion that has come from our research is the interconnectivity of our world and the problematic rhetoric used by transnational corporations to foster consumerism. In tracing a product like tea from its source in Sri Lanka, along the Pacific container shipping trade route to Vancouver, we have found many connections to other products like cotton, TOMS shoes, and complicated electronic devices like the iPad which are the end product of many components. The design, manufacture and export of textiles and apparel is one of the biggest industries in Sri Lanka. Even though Toms aren’t made in Sri Lanka, Tommy Hilfiger clothing is, and all these products join each other in the container shipping lanes bringing these products from the east to the west. Our research has allowed us to see that this is problematic; often these global connections can be a detriment to other parts of the world. We extract many resources, but even when corporations appear to be giving back to other parts of the world, they are often constructing themselves as charitable for selfish purposes. Our choices connect us to the products we consume, and all the products we have looked at are clearly interconnected.

Points of Analysis - Commodity fetishism is our need to continue to consume in order to feel good

Commodity fetishism is our need to continue to consume in order to feel good. We purchase certain items that we assign a greater worth to because they provide us with a sense of satisfaction. We also value certain brands over others, even though their products are produced through the same practices.

• Robyn: TOMS shoes are a preferred brand because the consumer is able to feel good by purchasing a pair. They actual product does not cost much to produce, but they cost anywhere from $54-$100. This is because the consumer is supposed to be paying for two pairs of shoes, one for themselves and one for the company to give away. The consumer is able to feel good because they have helped someone else in the world, and therefore people purchase TOMS not because they are the best shoes, but because of what the item has come to symbolize.
• Kiera: All products are made to target a particular market.  Lee Valley’s wood working tools may target men more than women, so possibly in an effort to offer something for the ladies, how about a nice soothing cup of tea so you can forget how much those tools cost, that your husband just bought.  Their advertising also tends to hearken us back to a time when quality workmanship was valued more than ‘blue light specials’ (Wal-Mart, selling products made in China) and ‘no interest and no payments for 12 months’ (The Brick, selling products made in China).  Canada’s own colonial routes and ongoing association as a member of the British Commonwealth is played upon as the tea is packaged in a Victorian style tin.  Lee Valley Tools website boasts: “Although it is now possible to buy a near-infinite variety of flavored teas, unadulterated loose-leaf teas with a good pedigree are hard to find and are generally overpriced. We tested a wide range of Ceylonese teas and finally settled on a hand-picked, high-grown tea that has the classic orange pekoe taste but not the bitterness associated with low-grown, machine-picked leaves of the type normally sold in tea bags.  Machine-picked leaves include older leaves plus bits of twig; handpicked leaves include only two young tip leaves plus the bud. Our tea is grown at the 5000-foot level in the Dimbulla region of Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon). It brews to a rich golden color with a mellow taste.  A tin of this tea is an excellent gift for any tea lover. It comes sealed in a Victorian-style tin that also serves as an attractive caddy.”
• Nick: Maybe I’m being presumptuous here, but it seems to me as though Apple and appearance are near synonyms. In my research I found that Apple markets with an empathetic skew, appealing to the innate good in all of us to take action and make the world a better place. As one of its main selling points, Apple markets its aluminum cased iPad as being environmentally conscientious due to Aluminum’s ability to be easily recycled. Although the reality of the situation is vastly different, consumers like the ones targeted by apple are pushed into following their hearts. The message here is that in buying products other than the ones that are being advertised as ‘world saving’ (Apple’s in this case) we are actively destroying the planet, and who wants that? Obviously that’s an extremist view, but degrees of it are felt nevertheless. Why do we have commodity fetishism? Because everyone wants to feel good!
• Shauna: Commodity fetishism plays a large role in the consumption of cotton products, especially on the clothing end. Brand names are huge in the clothing industry. A simple cotton T-shirt sold from Wal-mart will be half the price, perhaps even a quarter of the price, of a T-shirt made by a larger company such as Versace, Armani, or Lacoste. Many people are drawn to buying well known expensive brand names, not always because they are made of higher quality materials or stitched (most large brand names use the same cotton materials as lower quality brands), but because there is a certain idea and attitude surrounding the purchase of a high quality brand. People are satisfied at paying a higher price in order to wear a certain brand because of the connotations that surround the logo. Brand names are a sign of status and wealth. Many people feel the need to continue buying high quality cotton clothing to keep up with the latest fashion trends and styles in order to feel satisfied.

Points of Analysis - Individual purchasing power allows us to choose what items we consume

Individual purchasing power allows us to choose what items we consume, but it does not allow us to make a difference in how the products are produced. Similarly, there are certain products only available to us as imports (Bananas, Sugar, Tea), and therefore it is difficult to make alternative choices when purchasing the products.

• Robyn: This statement applies more to the other products. While I feel paralysis in changing the manufacturing processes of what I buy, if we are viewing TOMS as both a product and a charitable venture, I could choose to purchase other shoes or try to help the world in another way. I cannot change what TOMS choses to do with their products, but I can make informed decisions about what shoes I buy or what I choose to do to make a difference in the world.
• Kiera: Ceylon tea must be grown in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon).  The BBC reported on February 1, 2002: “When the world stops for a cup of tea, chances are it will be Sri Lankan. Sri Lanka has retained its position as the world's top tea exporter by selling a record 294 million kilograms last year, tea broking firms John Keells and Forbes & Walker said. Earnings from tea exports rose to an all-time high of $658m from $595m the previous year, said Keells, which is good news for the recession bound economy. Exports grew by a modest 2.1%, but still left it well ahead of its main competitor, Kenya, which exported about 217 million kg. The main buyers of Sri Lankan tea are the former Soviet bloc countries and the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iran, Britain, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.”  Although Lee Valley Tools is importing this tea, it arrives at the Port of Vancouver which is fiftieth on the list of the world’s busiest container ports, and handled approximately 2.5 million containers in 2010.  The United States two biggest ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach, are seventeenth and eighteenth on the list of the world’s busiest container ports, and handled approximately 13 million containers in 2010 combined.  China, on the other hand, has six of the top ten busiest container ports in the world, which handled a combined total of nearly 113 million containers.

• Nick: This is a short one, but the one thing I found that really related to this is how nebulous the system is that produces consumer products like the iPad. So many parties are involved that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to know where everything comes from or what conditions produced it. It’s not like having a banana that you bought from a store with a sticker on it saying that it’s a product of Brazil; when we look at something like the iPad, we can only see the product as-is. There is no clear evil distributer against which a unified front can be staged (apple doesn’t make what it sells, it only designs it), so I don’t find it surprising that nothing has been done, simply because it can’t. The system is too big, the players too many, and the consumer too small.
• Shauna: There is no doubting the fact that in our society, we need to be clothed. It is not only socially acceptable but legally demanding that we robe certain parts of our bodies in some sort of material. We can not stop that most of our clothing contains a percentage of cotton an we can not control the fact that cotton can not be grown in Canada.  As consumers, we can be aware of the types of cotton grown and where in the world the cotton in our clothes is coming from. If we want to wear cotton that is more environmentally friendly, organic cotton is the best substance to look for. It is known to be better for the environment and for the health of workers in the cotton field, but it definitely will cost a fair bit more than general cotton clothes (Organic Trade Association). There has also been the introduction of genetically modified cotton (Bt Cotton) which uses the key ingredient Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring soil organism that provides resistance to several bollworm species. This has reduced the amount of toxins being sprayed on the crops, but the seeds for Bt cotton are higher in price then regular cotton seeds (Gopal, 1515-1516).  It is hard for a consumer to track exactly where their cotton originated from because the “Made in . . .” tag usually notes where the cotton was manufactured from and not where it was farmed. What an informed consumer can do is either follow human right sites, like the International Labor Rights Forum, or even question companies about the whereabouts of their cotton in person. If it is found out that the company has been sourcing cotton from questionable companies, then it is known that a group of individuals can make a change by expressing concern through letters to the company head. The International Labor Rights Forum has also published the “Shop with a Conscience Customer Guide” which is a website that identifies different options of where to buy clothing made in ethical and worker-friendly conditions. It offers links to sites of different companies, such as the Autonomie Project, which offers sweat-shop free and eco-friendly clothing consisting of organic cotton and natural, eco-friendly materials that are one hundred percent vegan (SweatFree Communities).  There are definitely ways in which we can become conscience consumers in the cotton industry, but it does take time, effort, and a bit of extra cash.