Intro: Consumer spaces are grocery stores, malls, farmers markets, websites, and other places where we spend money so that we can bring home products. Behind the scenes there are warehouses, shipping lanes, garment factories, cotton fields, plantations, and much more. By examining the commodity chains of the products we buy, we can begin to learn about how we are connected to the world through our consumption patterns. Geographers go beyond what we’re buying to ask questions like: Where do products come from? Who makes the products we buy? How do employment opportunities differ between the U.S. and the other countries supplying a large portion of our consumer goods? Which countries tend to produce the products we consume in the U.S.? Why don’t we produce more of our own stuff? What factors have led to domestic (U.S.) companies outsourcing production to other countries? What are the consequences of buying from other countries? Could we produce everything we buy? We consider economic, social, environmental, political, and geographical factors.
Research ONE or more of the companies that make your clothing/groceries. Type in search terms such as “Where are [brand name] clothes made” or “Which country makes [brand name]” or “USDA Organic Certification” to get started. Include a bibliography with at least three sources. On food or clothing products, words like “natural” and “organic” can be meaningless. Natural is usually totally meaningless (but it helps sell products when people don’t realize this). Organic only means something if a label accompanies it that is affiliated with an official certification process, except in some very small-scale farming operations (such as some farmers that sell products at farmers markets, because organic certification can be very expensive). In addition to USDA Organic labels, you may also find legitimate labels from certification processes for small companies, so keep your eyes open. Certification and product labeling is a growing trend and there are some labels and words that cannot be on packaging unless the product has met guidelines established by the federal government, or other agencies. You are encouraged to learn the difference and write about it – for any of the words or peculiar labels you find. In the past, students have found all sorts of interesting marketing strategies and product labels intended to trick consumers into thinking they were buying very ethical sourced/manufactured products, when it was far from the case. (Work Cited page required)
Questions
- Essay: Consider the questions from the intro to this assignment and the research section. Develop an essay that addresses how your clothing/groceries fit into the global economy and answer the final question: Going forward from the state of global garment manufacturing/global food production today, how can the system change for the better?
- Submit your list and map with your essay on Blackboard via Turnitin and don’t forget the paper requirements (below). Essay Requirements: 2 pages minimum (maps, images, bibliographies, and other materials do not count toward the 2 pages) Typed, double-spaced, 1” margins Common, 12 point font (Times/Times New Roman/Arial) Include a bibliography with at least 3 sources. Use (and highlight/color/bold) at least 5 vocabulary words from the book. Chapter 8 (agriculture) and Chapter 9 (economic geography) will have related words, but you can also take words from other chapters. Do not put your name, course info, or other personal info on your paper. Upload through Turnitin on Blackboard – no plagiarism! Plagiarism results in a zero on the assignment. Images/maps cannot be uploaded separately – they must be included in your paper to count toward your grade.