lifeinpoetry's review
4.0
I appreciated the majority of the comics but there was one or two in which the text was so extremely thin and tiny I couldn't make out the majority of the words even though the the Overdrive website gives you the ability to enlarge images.
jameseckman's review
5.0
This book opened my eyes to the fast fashion trend, basically people are buying about 4x the clothes they did 20 years ago. This trend fuels the garment industry which employs 1/6th of the world's women in jobs that pay a fraction of a living wage. While the industry has always been exploitative, it may be plumbing new depths and the various ways it uses to oppress women is pretty horrible.
An outstanding primer on the basic issues with extensive links to further reading, it's a fast read. The graphics are OK but I might not of read it if it wasn't in the graphic novel section, so I'm keeping it a 5.
Related reads: [b:Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China|2635587|Factory Girls From Village to City in a Changing China |Leslie T. Chang|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320406400s/2635587.jpg|2660297], note they are treated better than their Cambodian and other 3rd world counterparts.
And while I still have a few American made clothes, I'm not sure if you can buy new ones anymore.
An outstanding primer on the basic issues with extensive links to further reading, it's a fast read. The graphics are OK but I might not of read it if it wasn't in the graphic novel section, so I'm keeping it a 5.
Related reads: [b:Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China|2635587|Factory Girls From Village to City in a Changing China |Leslie T. Chang|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320406400s/2635587.jpg|2660297], note they are treated better than their Cambodian and other 3rd world counterparts.
And while I still have a few American made clothes, I'm not sure if you can buy new ones anymore.
hamikka's review
5.0
Ding half a star for teeny-tiny print. Besides that, an informative, provocative read.
spiringempress's review
3.0
A great idea with wonderful forewords by Anne Moore, but the overall the execution is poor. [b:Threadbare: Clothes, Sex, and Trafficking|26113718|Threadbare Clothes, Sex, and Trafficking|Anne Elizabeth Moore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459879300s/26113718.jpg|46060579] explores the rise of the Fast Fashion industry, its effects on local businesses, connection to human trafficking and the impoverishment of its workers in short panels. I learned a lot from this graphic novel but I often felt that the information in the panels came off like a factoid sheet and didn't connect all of these issues in an efficient or cohesive manner.
Part of this issue stems from the fact that these short panels were featured in a weekly column and were not seen as a collective whole. However, this does not excuse the poor thought out design of the panels. There were a couple of panels that featured font so tiny I had my nose a breath away from the page. Overall, the graphic novel took on large and complicated issues that require in-depth explanations and not just simple facts. As a result, the three chapters with their separate issues were completely disjointed from one another and failed to thoroughly investigate or even invest in these individuals' lives because of its brevity.
However despite this, I learned a lot about the fast fashion industry and its close connection to sex work. I was especially disheartened to see how many women leave prostitution and their pimps only to be abused by NGOs and their promise of fair wages and housing. It's such an unfortunate cycle and this graphic novel attempts to showcase how these women are often further abused by so called crusaders. In one instance, Moore discusses the controversy of Mam Somaly and even the white savior complex of Nicholas Kristof, who wrote [b:Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide|6260997|Half the Sky Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide|Nicholas D. Kristof|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320486170s/6260997.jpg|6444203]. Both who have complicated the lives of those trafficked by overestimating the numbers and creating a victim when the victim does not exist. The third chapter was by far my favorite because I have often thought about whether charities, NGOs and other so-called 'good' organizations are actually accomplishing anything beneficial.
Therefore, I appreciate Moore's tenacity and chosen campaign - I just wish she compiled this book with a little more thought to the cohesion, thesis and how the sub-themes would connect and flow. You know there must be a problem when the book ends with a summary and proclamation (almost like an rough draft outline) of how the book's major arguments and chapters are supposed to link up.
Part of this issue stems from the fact that these short panels were featured in a weekly column and were not seen as a collective whole. However, this does not excuse the poor thought out design of the panels. There were a couple of panels that featured font so tiny I had my nose a breath away from the page. Overall, the graphic novel took on large and complicated issues that require in-depth explanations and not just simple facts. As a result, the three chapters with their separate issues were completely disjointed from one another and failed to thoroughly investigate or even invest in these individuals' lives because of its brevity.
However despite this, I learned a lot about the fast fashion industry and its close connection to sex work. I was especially disheartened to see how many women leave prostitution and their pimps only to be abused by NGOs and their promise of fair wages and housing. It's such an unfortunate cycle and this graphic novel attempts to showcase how these women are often further abused by so called crusaders. In one instance, Moore discusses the controversy of Mam Somaly and even the white savior complex of Nicholas Kristof, who wrote [b:Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide|6260997|Half the Sky Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide|Nicholas D. Kristof|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320486170s/6260997.jpg|6444203]. Both who have complicated the lives of those trafficked by overestimating the numbers and creating a victim when the victim does not exist. The third chapter was by far my favorite because I have often thought about whether charities, NGOs and other so-called 'good' organizations are actually accomplishing anything beneficial.
Therefore, I appreciate Moore's tenacity and chosen campaign - I just wish she compiled this book with a little more thought to the cohesion, thesis and how the sub-themes would connect and flow. You know there must be a problem when the book ends with a summary and proclamation (almost like an rough draft outline) of how the book's major arguments and chapters are supposed to link up.
knobbyknees's review
4.0
(3.5 stars) This book is part of an important discussion that we should be having, but the execution was kind of lacking. I'm not altogether ignorant of the effects of fast fashion and sex trafficking, but I'm also kind of a newb about all this, and the information presented in the graphic novel format was a little murky to understand. I really liked the idea of these topics shown in comic panels, but each chapter (four in all) only touched on the surface of everything and didn't really give me enough information about each theme. Also, the book is fairly small (like 5x7"), and I feel like the comics were drawn for an 8.5x11" page, because the text in some panels were so small I felt that I needed a magnifying glass.
That said, I gleaned some information from this book that can lead me to investigate more. Each chapter has endnotes with sources that can be a good way to learn more about individual topics.
As far as the book goes, it was so broad and over-ambitious. I think it would've been better if the author(s) focused really hard on one specific topic and made a book, rather than a single chapter, about each part she wanted to discuss. I would've liked more detail and depth.
That said, I gleaned some information from this book that can lead me to investigate more. Each chapter has endnotes with sources that can be a good way to learn more about individual topics.
As far as the book goes, it was so broad and over-ambitious. I think it would've been better if the author(s) focused really hard on one specific topic and made a book, rather than a single chapter, about each part she wanted to discuss. I would've liked more detail and depth.
maddiewagner's review
4.0
Informative and innovate look at the issue of fast fashion, retail, and women's labor around the globe.
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