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Adapted from "The Global Economy: The Clothes in Your Closet," in New York and the World. New York: Global Perspectives in Education, Inc., 1984. pp 7 and 30-32.
Middle School
The growing importance of international trade in our economy is reflected in the origins of many of the everyday items we buy and consume, such as clothing. For example, most firms that produce jeans, a distinctly American product, now manufacture their product outside the US Labels telling where the garment was made actually only hint at the international background of the article. Many "Made in the USA." garments, although sewn in the US, may have been manufactured from textiles, fibers, and/or raw materials produced abroad.
With the growth of international trade comes growing international economic interdependence. Some people find danger in increasing dependence on foreign countries; others find encouraging possibilities such as expanded world production and greater hope for world peace and cooperation.
The overall objective for this lesson is to focus on the significance of the interdependent nature of international trade, using clothing as an example. Students should also come to understand that there are pluses and minuses to such trade. Discussion of the role of trade agreements such as NAFTA is integral to the topic.
The progress indicators cited reflect desirable end goals. Teachers should be prepared to use a wide variety of observational, testing and authentic achievement evaluation measures in judging the progress of students.
By having students make a survey of his/her clothing and identify at least ten items made in other countries abroad, students are encouraged to become aware of the global nature of the clothing they wear. They will gain an initial realization that such items are a part of international trade.
By associating each of their items of "international" clothing with a specific country and locating that country on a map of the world, the students will not only reinforce their knowledge of geography, but will recognize the specific areas of the world from which most of their items of clothing are derived. They will begin to generalize about clothing sources and the nature of the manufacturing relationship to the US companies. Students will also become conscious of the nature of and the debate about, "outsourcing" (US companies going to other countries for manufacturing because of (1) location of raw material; (2) cheap labor; and (3) reduced transportation costs) and the nature of "balance of trade." By encouraging the class to develop a composite map of all countries that manufactured clothing of members of the class, you will reinforce the lesson.
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to generalize about and analogize with other common daily items in terms of their origin, manufacture and the implications for international trade.
Nylon, acrylic, polyester and spandex, etc., are synthetic fibers made from coal or petroleum. The chief producers of petroleum are Saudi Arabia, the US, Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Rayon and acetate are cellulose fibers. They are made from cellulose, the chief commercial sources of which are cotton and wood pulp.
Distribute Handout 33A, Data Chart, on which students can record the following. Ask them to find at least ten items of their clothing that were made outside the US Use the clothing labels to identify where the garment was made and from what fibers it was made. Since there is no way of knowing from exactly what country the raw material for the fibers came, research the most likely place it might be found (e.g., cotton-India).
The teacher should invite discussion about the results of the student surveys. Students should see their clothing as the result of a global production system. Stimulating questions might include the following:
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