Introduction

Our group’s research has focused on the products we consume and our relationship to where they come from. We have thought about the processes of extraction, manufacturing and consumption. Our initial thesis was inspired by the phase “Not in my Backyard,” which Bruce Robbins uses in the article “The Sweatshop Sublime.” Consumers are often oblivious to how products are produced, and as Robbins suggests, have no problem with the existence of sweatshop labour as long as it is not happening in their country or to their neighbour. We recognized from the outset the problematic nature of this discourse, and sought to use our research to explore the so called unknowns of producing products around the world.

In our first meeting, we each identified a product that we were going to research from extraction to consumption that matched our own interests. Shauna chose to examine cotton production and manufacturing, Nick was going to look at Foxconn, which eventually evolved into examining the creation of the Apple IPad, Kiera began to look at the extraction of Orange Pekoe tea in Sri Lanka, and Robyn decided to examine TOMS shoes. While we each have had individual challenges in tracking these produces around the globe, as a group we feel that our research has become balanced as each product’s story focuses on a different part of the creation process. Much of our research was posted on a blog titled Not in My Backyard, and this has allowed us to share ideas and summarize the many sources we have looked at over the past month. (see: http://nimby341.blogspot.com/)

The following points of analysis are five conclusions we have come to through our research. Each is followed by the individual group member’s experience with the product they were researching in relation to the statement. We have chosen to present our research in this way so that each group member can show how they have engaged with the point of analysis.