VeganYANerds: Made on Earth by Wolfgang Korn

Made on Earth by Wolfgang Korn

Published October 1, 2012 by A & C Black

Source: Bloomsbury Australia

Rating: 4 paws

From the blurb: Clothing. Trainers. Technology. Where do they come from? Where do they go?
Have you ever wondered how a piece of clothing ends up in your wardrobe? Who made it, and where? What will you do with it when you've decided it’s not fashionable anymore?Made on Earth follows the incredible journey of a red fleece around the world. From the cells of a Chittagong prison, where factory works are interrogated for campaigning for a living wage, to a refugee boat drifting hopelessly on the Atlantic Ocean, find out how just on item of clothing can connect so many different people, including you.

Made on Earth by Wolfgang Korn takes a look at the way a fleece jacket is made, illustrating the idea of globalisation. The story starts with a clothing company in Germany, placing an order for some fleece jackets from their supplier in Bangladesh. We then travel to Dubai where crude oil is being extracted. This oil is then shipped via an oil tanker to Bangladesh. Once there it is turned into polyethylene, which is used to make the material we know as fleece. The story then moves onto the factories where the jackets are made, strong chemicals are used to dye the fabric, often harming workers. In the sweat shop, workers are forced to continue sewing long into the night to fulfil the order with only one bathroom and food break. The clothing is then sent to Germany via shipping container, which can be a dangerous journey due to storms and pirate attacks. Once in Germany, it is purchased by the author and he wears it for many years. It is then donated to a clothes recycling company which in turns sells clothes to a company in Africa so that they may be bought and re-sold by local market sellers. This jacket is purchased by a young man, trying to leave the country as a refugee.

Wolfgang Korn is a journalist so I felt sure that he had done a lot of research into these topics before writing this book. I didn't request this for review but it is a topic I am very interested in, so I was looking forward to reading it. The story also touches on subjects such as energy sources, poor working conditions, the environment, and refugees.

The story did sound quite coincidental as Wolfgang sees tv footage of a young refugee in a red fleece jacket arriving in Europe from Africa, and he thinks it could be his old jacket, but he explains at the end that he does have quite a vivid imagination and that the footage of the man inspired him to write this book and his fleece jacket would have gone thought the same journey as the hypothetical jacket.

I found the book fascinating and thought provoking, which I'm sure is the intention. I know I could do better when it comes to purchasing clothes. I don’t want to support sweat shops or the companies that employ them, but that concern tends to disappear when I see a cute dress on sale. I've just don’t a quick search and it seems that even these days, most brands are still using sweat shops to produce clothing and shoes. There’s a small list of Australian companies who have been accredited, but most of them only guarantee the clothing made here, and not the garments they have made overseas.

The writing was simplistic and easy to read, procedures were explained well, for example how crude oil is extracted, but it was at a level that I think older primary school students and teens could understand. I think it would be good for kids to get an idea of where the products they want so badly come from.

Made on Earth is the story of a red fleece jacket, but also it is a look at the way our world functions, and hopefully it will inspire readers to consider their purchases more carefully and in turn positively change our world.

Thank you to the lovely people at Bloomsbury Australia for my review copy.

19 comments:

Keertana said...: Woah, you had me at the first sentence! I actually read a lot of historical/non-fiction stuff (because I am REALLY weird), so this is almost right up my alley. I've never been interested in how all this ties into globalization, but it sounds very fascinating, so I'm going to have to check out this topic for sure! :); 12 January 2013 8:15 am
Alex (A Girl, Books, OtherThings) said...: Sounds good!
Is this non-fiction? it sounds like it... and like those books I had to read for Political Geography and Geopolitics class, but actually interesting and fun.; 12 January 2013 3:58 pm
Candace said...: I watch documentaries about stuff like this but I'm not sure I could stick with a book. I do think we need to remember to pay attention to where everything we buy comes from. Buying locally made is expensive but worth it if its at all possible to do. I do shop the goodwill outlet where you clothes by the pound and since its reclycled I don't feel so bad, but buying new stresses me out cause there aren't many clothes made in the US. When my baby (now almost 4) was a baby I bought all his stuff handmade by moms in the US, including his cloth diapers. As he got bigger they got more expensive and I couldn't do it all the time so now its used or handmade. And he gets gifts of course and I cant control that.
Anyway - wow, I really went long winded there! Sorry!; 12 January 2013 4:17 pm
Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...: There is no doubt we are a global economy and this does sound fascinating. Oh I love that kitty pose! So cute!; 12 January 2013 4:43 pm
Tanja - Tanychy said...: I saw a lot of documentaries about this. Not only cloths, but also shoes and many other things. We here mostly get the cloths form these countries and unfortunately most of the people can't afford some brand things.
I haven't read any book about it but it sounds really interesting. Great review :); 12 January 2013 8:58 pm
Rebecca said...: This sounds like something I would love to watch! I'm not sure how I would do with it in book form, but I'm glad you liked it. I am one of those people who can watch documentaries for hours on subjects like this.; 12 January 2013 11:00 pm
Leah said...: YAY FOR NON-FICTION! I wish bloggers would read more of it. Sometimes I feel I'm the only one who loves to settle down with a good biography or story about the history of _____.

Over the past few years I've discovered I'm really into microhistories: books that detail the history of one particular thing. Goodreads has a pretty awesome list of microhistory books. There's one on bananas, one exploring longitude, and books on coffee, the number zero, the color red, tulips, potatoes, oysters, I could go on and on.

I work in a bookstore and one day came across The Secret Life of Lobsters for $1. :) I couldn't resist.

Rambly comment is rambly, but in short: non-fiction = good.; 13 January 2013 12:05 am
Andrea @The Bookish Babes said...: What an important book, Mandee. Truly eye-opening. I'm glad this book came your way. Your passion for the subject is apparent.

Lovely review!; 13 January 2013 2:43 am
Adriana (BooksOnHerMind) said...: This reminds me a lot of a Walmart documentary I watched one time. It was a lot about the exploitation of people from other countries like China who hardly get enough salary while the clothes they make are sold at an amount that's way more than they see in a month. It makes you think, right? I don't think I could read a book about it but maybe I should. It would make me more conscious of who I buy from.; 13 January 2013 5:56 am
Kristen Evey said...: I did a lot of research on this in college when I wrote a paper about modern slavery. Unfortunately, I haven't really kept up on the research. I think books and movies like this are important to continue awareness though. Once you start digging into the research it's really sad to see that there are very, very few places you can buy clothes that haven't been touched at some point of the process by sweatshops. I will definitely be adding this book to my list! Thanks for the review.; 13 January 2013 6:58 am
TheBookSlayer said...: This really isn't the type of book I like to read because most cases one of these wouldn't keep my interest. However, I liked reading your review. The concept of following this sweater is really interesting and eye-opening. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one.; 13 January 2013 8:10 am
Heidi said...: This does sound fascinating! I only read a couple of non-fiction books every year, but this is exactly the type that I like to pick up. It sounds well researched, and very interesting and thoughtful. I like that it doesn't seem preachy--obviously the author recognizes that he too has fed into this business by buying these clothes. I know what you mean about not wanting to support companies that use sweat shops, but it can be so hard when it's hard to find clothes that don't. Glad things like this keep us thinking!; 13 January 2013 1:34 pm
Lauren Elizabeth said...: This is definitely outside my normal bookish comfort zone, but it sounds so thought provoking! I am also adamantly against companies that exploit workers and/or abuse the environment, but I confess I'm not as vigilant as I'd like to be in finding out where my clothes and other consumer goods come from. Definitely checking this one out, thanks for the recommendation!; 13 January 2013 9:36 pm
Britt said...: This sounds really interesting. I'll have to pick up a copy. I like when something seems throughly researched. Thanks for reviewing this one and bringing it to my attention.; 14 January 2013 2:57 am
Alexa Y. said...: Oh wow, this book sounds really interesting! I'm betting that it would make me think twice about what I spend my money on.; 17 January 2013 4:29 am
Sarah (saz101) said...: MANDEEEEE! This is my favorite picture of Molly, yet. What a doll!

Now this sounds FASCINATING. I... you know, I think Lauren would love this. I don't read much N/F, but she likes it a LOT. Totally putting it on my radar ♥; 18 January 2013 10:03 am
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