One of the biggest issues in the history of mankind is climate change; there are appalling effects of climate change to our planet, society, and the communities it impacts. The amount of pollution contributed to global climate change is partially due to heavy consumerism. The rise in global temperatures will inevitably lead to lack of quality crops such as cotton, reducing the ability to make quality clothing. Fast fashion companies are notorious for over-production of relatively cheap clothing; current overconsumption is wasting valuable resources, raising product costs, destroying the environment, and harming overworked employees. 

Ethically, environmentally, and environmentally, how can you make good choices regarding climate change and sustainability? Which companies sustainably produce our goods, such as clothing, and how well do they treat their employees as well as the environment?  Kelsey Timmerman’s WHERE AM I WEARING? is an excellent starting point to learn how you can make a difference in terms of choosing sustainable clothing.  

Fueled by passion and curiosity, Kelsey Timmerman tells the story of the items we often take for granted. He is the New York Times Bestselling author of WHERE AM I WEARING? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People That Make Our Clothes; WHERE AM I EATING? An Adventure Through the Global Food Economy; and WHERE AM I GIVING? A Global Adventure Exploring How to Use Your Gifts and Talents to Make a Difference. 

Timmerman’s writing has appeared in places such as the Christian Science Monitor, and has aired on NPR. He has spent the night in Castle Dracula in Romania, played PlayStation in Kosovo, farmed on four continents, taught an island village to play baseball in Honduras, and in another life, worked as a SCUBA instructor in Key West, Florida. A champion of global thinking and local action, he regularly speaks at universities, colleges, and high schools all over the U.S. He is also the co-founder of The Facing Project, a non-profit community storytelling initiative in nearly 100 communities across the country.

We were lucky enough to chat with him about his book, Where Am I Wearing? Here’s what he had to say…

Please tell us about your book, Where am I wearing?

This book details my global quest to meet the people who made my clothes. It all started after I graduated college; I had saved my money, and would go blow it all traveling. I was a scuba instructor, and also had started writing about some of my adventures out there traveling the world—I knew I could go anywhere in the world and have experiences that would be worth writing about. So I decided this T-shirt’s coming with me to my tropical paradise. I thought, “what if I just went wherever the shirt was made?” I checked the tag and it was made in Honduras...so I went there to have adventures. First off, jungle hiking, island exploring, and I thought at least I should go the factory where my shirt was made; maybe I could meet someone who had made it. And there I met a guy named Amilcar, who was my same age, pretty much—and I hadn't really thought it through. And suddenly I was looking at myself, through his eyes, kind of like through the rest of the world's eyes, and started to wrestle with the privilege and opportunity of my own life and what that meant, especially terms of responsibility. I started to look at my other items of clothing. My underwear was made in Bangladesh, my flip flops in China, a pair of shoes made in Ethiopia, blue jeans in Cambodia. And I went to those places, and I wrote about the people I met. 

Made in Cambodia

What companies that produce clothing stood out to you (good or bad)...and what did they do differently compared to other companies that you’ve seen?

The first one was a company called Delta Apparel. That was from the first time I tried to find out where the factory was, and I called and eventually someone told me where the factory was, because it wasn't on website. Currently, that information’s more readily shared, but it’s still kind of buried. So when I called, though, it was kind of funny what I was doing, and they told me where it was located. And I went! That was kind of amazing. Of course, once I got there, they were like, “Who are you? Why are you here? Like go away?”

Levi's was pretty good to work with in Cambodia. They were sort of welcoming. I worked some contacts there to get into a factory. Levi's has kind of led the way for the garment industry, in terms of social issues, but I mean, that's a pretty heavy curve of the industry. 

Decker shoes was in China, and I was treated pretty poorly there. Someone told me where the factory was, and then I ended up showing up at the factory and at the country manager's office. And then the shit hit the fan and I was getting yelled at and stuff like that. And people asked, “Why are you here?” Later, I heard from people who were working for Decker's that were in the office in the United States that had heard about me showing up…and it was like, “what do we do with this guy?” But now, Decker actually has someone who's in charge of sustainability, a position at the company that focuses on treating the world and people more fairly. 

Another good company that does a lot is Patagonia. I had multiple experiences with them over the years, although I don't really write a lot about them. But they made what I thought was a pretty cool decision very early on, which was to list the countries of origin for all of their clothing in their catalog, whereas most clothing companies would just say ‘imported’ on the tag. Patagonia then launched something called the Footprint Chronicles, where you could follow a particular item of clothing back to the country of origin. Patagonia was definitely leading the way. And now most of their stuff is fair trade certified, which is really, really cool. There’s a company called Prana that does that, as well. 

We're traveling across the world learning about where your clothing came from. Is there any person or story that stuck with you…and why? 

Yes, I would say, probably the first person I met, Amilcar in Honduras. I met him for like 10 minutes, and I learned he likes to play soccer with his family, and work in the factory, and he had made my shirt. And that's about it. And I went on my way; it was kind of a failed experience, where I thought maybe I'll do this, maybe I'll meet the people who made my clothes. And then I met one of them. And I was just so uncomfortable with it, as I faced my own privilege. And I just kind of left then, and I gave him the shirt I was wearing, which is ridiculous. And I posed for a stupid picture where he's wearing my shirt, and I'm shirtless, and it's embarrassing.

Eventually, six years later, I went back to find Amilcar…and he was gone. He had gone to the places where his shirts were sold. He couldn’t come to the United States directly, so had hiked into and through Mexico, right on top of the trains, like so many Central Americans making that journey to the United States looking for more opportunity. Then he arrived in the United States, in California. He has an American wife and a child, and I just wrote a letter to help him get citizenship as part of his packet of citizenship. Currently, he is getting ready to go back to Honduras to see his family, hopefully, when those papers come through, and he wants me to go with him, which is, I'm not sure how I'm honored that he wants me to go back with him. But it also seems like a very, very personal thing. And we've become friends; I want it to be more of just like a friend thing and not like a-me-as-a-writer/him-as-my-subject thing. So I'm trying to navigate those waters, myself, which I think he doesn't really feel that way. 

Amilcar kind of inspired this whole journey: what was his life like? And why was I afraid to ask him the questions I wanted to know, such as: what do you get paid; did this job provide a better life for you; and your family is a sweatshop…those kinds of questions. Truly, he inspired all that. And we still stay in touch. 

Are there proposed solutions to giving workers in these clothing factories a livable wage that you’ve seen actually work? Or even reducing the pollution caused by some companies? 

I had a company tell me once that every decision they made about the environment ultimately saved them money, because they're using fewer resources; every decision they made about people cost them money, because that means you're paying people more, probably having them work less, and providing them with better benefits and working conditions.

As to solutions, perhaps the age-old solution tends to be worker’s unions. In 2013, a factory collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,133 people. And that led to changes in the industry, with workers pushing for better factory conditions and better pay—but still, often you hear of protests in Bangladesh, and about people not earning enough money to necessarily feed their families. The cost of food goes up, and so it's still a really rough situation. 

To me, the solution—the best solution—is unionizing. 

The tool is facilitating people standing up for themselves; I've heard of ways to empower those workers, such as anonymous reporting through their mobile phones for concerns about working conditions or pay. This tool has the most potential for change.

And then how can companies and labor rights organizations support workers doing that? So there was something called labor link, which was the app that workers could report their factories, conditions, and pay or any concerns they had. 

Fair trade is part of that solution when a third party comes in and audits the factories. I don't think it's a silver bullet by any means, but it also encourages more unionization and a more democratic process among the workers. It often comes with a higher pay for the workers. 

How can people find your work? 

My website is http://kelseytimmerman.com/. 
You can find my three books there, as well as at online bookshops.

My socials include: 
https://www.instagram.com/kelseytimmerman/
https://www.facebook.com/KelseyTimmerman
https://twitter.com/kelseytimmerman

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Once we realize that we live in a world with such inequality and justice, what do we do? How do we make a difference? How do we give back?

Read our 2008 interview with Kelsey here!

Read more in this series: 

Climate Change and Sustainability: Why Should You Care?

Climate Change: Ten Small Ways to Make a Big Difference

Hala Khabir, the Climate Change and Sustainability Editor for Wandering Educators, is a Biology major at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and is passionate about the study of medicine as well as advocating for climate change awareness.