Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The China Price in Women's Wear Daily

Women's Wear Daily ran a full-page interview with me yesterday, packed with quotes from me and the book. "Behind every $2 T-shirt lies the overworked, underpaid human face of a Chinese migrant worker," Lisa Movius, the reporter, wrote from Shanghai. The piece is aimed squarely at the people who really could make a difference in the lives of ordinary Chinese workers: the apparel brands. I would urge all the fashion companies to think about the global consequences of their pursuit of ever-lower prices. Eventually, they are going to run out of road with this strategy. In China, they already have. Read the article online here or pick up a copy on the newsstand.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

A Perfect Storm in China

U.S. News and World Report is running two pieces quoting me this week talking about the monumental changes going on in China's manufacturing sector. This is, of course, one of my favorite subjects, and one I don't think the rest of the world has fully digested yet. The author of the two superb pieces, Paul Mooney, quotes me talking about a "perfect storm" hitting Chinese manufacturers. Read the piece on manufacturers disappearing here and another one about the labor shortage in the world's most populous nation here.