March Week Three

How a T-Shirt is Made

First things first, our Extra Activity is this weekend!  Unfortunately I will not be able to lead the short film and commentary at La Retro on Thursday.  The activity will occur and I recommend you all go, but because I won't be there, I have organized another activity.  We will meet this Sunday March 23rd at 20:00 at Tastavin Bar in the San Juan to go out for tapas in English.

Now on to the topic!

This week we talked about fast fashion and how our clothes are produced.  From cotton farming to fabric production, to designing, manufacturing, distribution and shopping, it's amazing the many things we can talk about when we look at the life of just one T-shirt!  This topic was in part inspired by the Planet Money T-Shirt Project.  You can see tons of videos there that describe the whole process.  Check it out!

Listening
Learners can try several podcasts about Zara, Factories, Working in a Factory, or the disaster last year in Bangladesh.  For original version listening I recommend watching the documentary China Blue and of course, any of the chapters at Planet Money T-Shirt Project.
Reading
Don't forget about reading!  There is a ton of information out there. Learners can try some articles from Breaking News English about Sweatshop or the article The Cost of No Sweatshops. For original version reading I recommend the articles at NPR, such as The Tragic Number that Got Us Talking about Our Clothing.

Writing
So now comes the question, what can we do about it?  Do you think there is anything we as consumers can do to improve workers conditions in the textile industry?

Best,
Kelly