This book was written very well with a bit of humor. This book allows us an insight into the countries and the actual people that make our clothing.

The author allows us the opportunity to get to know a little about these people and their families. We normally do not think about things like that whenever we are out shopping for new clothes, but after reading this book, it has that affect on us.

Where am I Wearing: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes

"Where Am I Wearing" is about Kelsey Timmerman's quest to become a more informed consumer by visiting the factories that have manufactured his underwear, jeans, flip-flops and shorts. The book's sections are divided up by country: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China and the Unites States.

Timmerman's writing style is personal, like a deep yet informal conversation with a good friend about the consequences of globalization. It is clear he is passionate about the cause and yet I didn't find him overly preachy about what readers should or should not buy. It was interesting to read about his experiences with the factory workers and what they had to teach. Featuring their pictures throughout the book added a nice touch and helped put a face to a name, which is reminiscent of the greater purpose of Timmerman's journey, to get to know the faces behind the clothing. It is evident that the factory workers, including Arifa, Nari, Ai, Zhu Vhun and Dewan, had a great impact upon Timmerman by the way he conveyed their stories and as a result, I was touched as well.

This book gave me greater insight into the true meaning of `sweatshop' and showed that there is no black and white when deciding which companies to purchase clothing from. I was surprised to learn that the factory workers themselves protest American boycotts and not only want but need us to buy the clothing they make. Often times it is the teenagers and young adults who work so that they can send a large portion of their earnings back to their families in the countryside and they need these jobs to support them. Some of them have even paid just to have the `luxury' of obtaining a factory job, while others use any connections they have to get them. It can be tough to know what the right course of action is when trying to shop in an ethical manner. Timmerman does a good job of outlining the issues and then offers some advice and great websites to help determine which companies deserve our business.

"Where Am I Wearing" is an insightful and informative book. I liked that Timmerman included personal anecdotes from his own life and tied in all of his experiences coherently and concisely. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about globalization and factory workers without the feeling of being stuck in a classroom.

[...]

Kelsey Timmerman, journalist, blogger and traveler, wanted to know where his five favorite pieces of clothing came from. This curiosity led her to factories in Honduras, Bangladesh, Cambodia and China, the country that is experiencing an economic miracle. Kelsey witnesses the dark and sad side of this miracle, along with the harsh realities of the outsourced clothes making industry. From learning the difference of Levi wearers and Levi makers in Cambodia to the emotionally heartbreaking child labor force in Bangladesh, Kelsey witnesses the harsh worlds of the workers whose lives contrast sharply to his extravagant life style in the states. Whether he is riding roller coasters with workers in Cambodia or talking to a mother in Bangladesh who has to send her son to Saudi Arabia for work just to help out his family, Kelsey Timmerman bridges the gap between outsourcing and the lives it affects in this extremely interesting book on one of the hidden sides of economics.

This book takes you places you had never considered and makes you look at your clothing in new ways. I thought that Kelsey was respectful with his subjects -- without being preachy, overly sentimental or having a strong agenda. While he raised ethical issues and questions around clothing production and the conditions people work in -- he did so in a way that is a conversation starter (rather than a my way or the highway you get with some authors). This book could be used in a high school or college classroom as a way to discuss globalization or economics in a way that might lead to more discussion than a traditional textbook. I think it would also be an interesting book group choice because there are interesting issues that could be talked about that many people might not have considered.

Well, it seems kind of appropriate that Where Am I Wearing is being released this week from John Wiley & Sons. After all it's Black Friday in the U.S. this week.

Many of us will be buying clothes for gifts or ourselves. But do you ever really wonder where the item is made? Do you look at the tag as part of your decision or are you just happy to get a good deal?

Kelsey Timmerman did a little bit more that wonder. He decided to find the factory in Bangladesh that produced his favourite 'Jingle These' boxers. And his jeans, tee-shirt and flip flops.

And so off he treks to the other side of the world to discover the origins of his clothes.

In Bangladesh, he poses as an underwear buyer to gain entrance to view the factories. While most of us will speak out against sweatshop labour, Kelsey finds that nothing is as cut and dried when faced with actual people and their lives.

"My own conclusion, after visiting Bangladesh, is that we should not be ashamed that our clothes are made by children so much as ashamed that we live in a world where child labor is often necessary for survival."

He has great fun with some street kids, taking twenty of them to an amusement park for the same price it would take to get one American kid into Disney World.

It is this aspect that I enjoyed the most in Timmerman's book - the personal level of interaction - meeting with and talking to the actual workers of the garment industries he visited in their own environments.

Timmerman's writing style is entertaining and candid, but still explores the history of the garment industry and what is being done to reform it.

In Cambodia, home to his treasured pair of blue jeans, he discovers that 75% of the country's exports are garments. Again, it is the personal stories of the eight female workers sharing a 96 sq. ft. room that grabbed me.

It is in China that he has the most difficulty accessing a factory. But he connects with a married couple working in the flip flop factory. They provide for family back in their rural village and have not seen their son in three years. Kelsey decides to go to the village to visit.

Back in the US he visits a garment factory that made his oldest and still wearable shorts.

Timmerman provides no black and white answers but instead gives us much food for thought. Where am I Wearing is a fascinating, eye-opening, thought provoking read that will have you reading tags just to see where your favourite piece of clothing was made. Perhaps it will make you think a little bit longer before you get out the wallet and help you become an informed consumer.

"When I walk into my closet, I think about the hundreds - if not thousands- of people around the world who had a hand in making my clothes. Jeans are no longer just jeans, shirts no longer just shirts, shoes no longer just shoes, clothes are no longer just clothes. Each is an untold story."

(So far - Canada, US, Bangladesh, Taiwan and China - what about yours?)