The Travels Of A T Shirt In The Global Economy Analysis

The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy The book, “The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy” has divided into four parts. In Part I, “King Cotton,” Pietra Rivoli focused on Porter’s Diamond theory’s first step which is firm strategy, structure, and rivalry. She talked about how cotton has developed in America and how the USA took over the market and dominated the competition. She also explained how slavery has impacted on cotton development. In Part III, “Trouble At The Border,” Pietra Rivoli explained the Porter’s Diamond’s theory’s third step which is related and supporting industries. She explained that when T-shirts stacked container returned back to America, then how politics play the role and also how these affect the economy.
Rivoli described the USA’s dominance in the cotton industry. For instance, “The worlds first factories were cotton textile factories” (Rivoli 9). During the Industrial Revolution in England, cotton’s demand increased so much that America had to look for cotton somewhere else, but based on the graph after 1821, American South got into the competition (Rivoli, 10). As a result, the America successes was the fact that cotton production depended heavily on slave labor. The USA took over the market and dominated the competition. Of course, they did, the other countries like India and Africa, for instance, were still working their farms the old fashioned way, by themselves, and paying for any needed labor or in some cases, all their family members helped bring in the crops. However, because of their practices, they could produce and harvest nearly as much cotton as the USA due to their use of slaves, then advanced machinery, chemicals, and even genetically manufactured seed and of course with subsidies from the government later on. Success depended upon avoiding—not competing in—the labor market (Rivoli,
T-shirt manufactures seeking to lower their cost and improve their margins will buy cotton from the cheapest providers. As a result, USA farmers will see a decline in their cotton production profits while farmers in developed nations will see an increase in their income. Over time, the USA cotton farmer’s dominance will decline as countries gain market share from being lower cost providers. However, this transition will be gradual given the USA farmers’ advantage in producing more yields per acre and higher grade-cotton. With the elimination of USA government subsidies, cotton textile manufacturers will pay more for cotton. As the leading buyer of cotton, the Chinese apparel industry’s profitability will be reduced due to their inability to pass on increased cotton prices to their