(2013 Image Source: Link)
Descriptions
‘Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt’ (Planet Money 2013c) published by National Public Radio on December 2, 2013, tells a much more visual story than ‘NSA Files: Decoded’ and it provides an example of a transmedia storytelling effort. In April 2013, the Planet Money team of journalists launched a Kickstarter campaign (Planet Money 2013a) to fund a reporting project about the industry. People could pledge $25 to get a T-Shirt, and Planet Money would report every step of the T-shirt’s production, starting in the cotton fields of Missippi. Backers put up $590,807. Ten reporters covered the story, some of them to Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Columbia along with the cotton as it became cloth and, finally, 25,000 T-Shirts. (Source: Zion & Craig, 2015: Link)
Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt (Blumberg 2013) describes how cotton is made into t-shirts, from the cotton fields to factory floor and all the way to the end user, highlighting the economies behind the process and the people involved in the production (Source: Baldwin and Ching, 2016: Link)
An in-depth interactive investigative story series that National Public radio (NPR) put together on the cotton industry in a series called, ‘Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt.’ The project included graphics, video, and detailed text split-up under several titles alongside the step-by-step process involved in cotton production in the U.S to make a t-shirt (Source: Sreenivas, 2016: Link)
NPRs Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt transcends the radio category to be honored as one of two creative, globally reported interactive digital projects, which engage the audience while informing them about important issues that impact us all (Link
Publicly funded multimedia reporting. Planet Money shows the way of the future with its t-shirt story. (Source: reddit 2014: Link)
Blog made my NPR themselves about the process (Source: Seedtoshirt.tumblr.com 2013: Link)
In addition to combining photography, radio, video and infographics, the project is a form of participatory journalism, relying on the participation of consumers to carry the project through to the end. The audience, as consumers, could participate in buying a t-shirt as part of the reporting process, contributing to the tracking of t-shirt purchases. The site design further encourages participation through comments and interactivity (Source: Planet Money cited in Reihs 2015: Link).
(Click Photo for source: NPR, 2013, 3)
‘Five online films introduce the people who grow the cotton in the USA, spin the yarn in Indonesia, cut and sew the fabric in Bangladesh and Colombia, and transport the products across the world. The Planet Money t-shirt has a QR code linking to the interactive site (Source: Macleod 2013: Link)
Inspiration / Process / Technique / Methodology
The Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt project was inspired by The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, a book by economist Pietra Rivoli. (Source: Macleod 2013: link)
For us watching them at home, surrounded by the fabrics we purchased in a store, putting faces to the materials we use every day is an exercise in extreme humility. (Source: Dries 2013: link)
Cotton in a tshirt gets blended from farms across the globe (Source: Smith 2013: link)
So, the interesting thing about the T-shirt so far is it’s almost totally automated up to here. You know, the farming, the spinning, the knitting – it’s all done by machines and technology. But when you get the garment factory, that’s where the people come in. You need human beings and sewing machines to stitch the sleeves to the body and so forth. For that reason, this phase of the T-shirt’s life tends to gravitate toward where labor is very abundant and very cheap. (Source: NPR 2013: link)
The Planet Money t-shirt design features a squirrel hoisting a martini glass, a reference to the phrase “animal spirits” made famous by economist John Maynard Keynes…as Planet Money’s own David Kestenbaum put it recently: “Keynes’s idea was that there’s more to the markets than just numbers, there are people and emotions making decisions. And to the extent that we are finding the human element in the very dry subject of economics, it’s actually perfect for us.” (Source: NPR 2013: link)
And so we wanted to participate in the global economy. And we’re going to actually follow our T-shirt as it is made around the world. We were inspired in part by the fabulous book, “The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy” by Pietra Rivoli, which tells this story, in beautiful detail, how every T-shirt you own is touched by dozens, hundreds, thousands of hands in nearly every continent as it’s made. (Source: NPR 2013: link)
We wanted to see the hidden world behind clothes sold in this country, so we decided to make a T-shirt. We wanted to make an ordinary shirt like the vast majority of the shirts sold in this country — not organic cotton, not hand-sewn in the United States. (Source: Gulnaz K 2015: link)
Discussion / Responses
I love this story in the way it supports the global economy but would love to see a side by side comparison of the environmental impact of two t-shirts starting at the cotton fields in the US, but one heads “up the road” to the US mills to be produced and distributed within hundreds of miles vs. tens of thousands of miles – both to land back in the hands of a US consumer.Also, if the true goal is to support the global economy, hopefully the owners of the t-shirt brands and all other imported products that enjoy a healthy profit here in the states send some (money / support) back to the people throughout the process who make pennies and work under tough conditions to say the least (Source: Barrett 2013: link)
Got my shirt over a week ago. Wore it this week to a doctor’s appointment. The doctor made a comment about the martini toting squirrel. Told him what it was. “Oh, yeah. I’ve been listening to that this week on NPR. ” I said “Well this is the tee that created the stories you’re hearing” (Source: Laura 2013: link)
Would knowing how your clothes are made change the way you shop? @planetmoney tracks a T-shirts journey (Source: World Economic Forum 2013: link)
Planet Money is making a t-shirt that tells the story of its own creation. Want one? (Source: This American Life 2013: link)
When Planet Money embarked on a massive reporting project tracking the making of a simple T-shirt — from the cotton fields of Mississippi to Bangladeshi garment factories to shipping containers crossing oceans — an interactive, documentary-style presentation seemed like the obvious end result. (Source: Kirkland 2013: link)
Planet Money Makes a T-shirt has got to be one of my favorite projects I’ve seen this year. The content is SO good. (Source: Kessell 2013: link)
I’m sick of everything being “genetically modified” just to make more money. It’s a shame that 90% of the US’s cotton is genetically modified. ’ (Source: Kimberly Johnson 2015: link).
My ancestors pick those! (Source: G Aguon 2018: link)
This is sad… i wish i was rich so i can help people that have it harder than the people in my country. well anyone that has it too hard honestly. being born at a certain part of the world is not their fault…and some times its hard getting out of that position. i wish the “1%” would help them, but its not up to them. its sad (Source: Kom Bucha 2014: link)
If these women in Bangladesh were getting a much larger wage these clothes would still generate profits without having to change the selling price. But profit is never enough for some. This is all just another consequence of greed. (Source: Krshna28 2014: link)
Definition of American: fat, white people, in oversized T-shirts. (Source: Masterofpuberty 2014: link)
It’s better than nothing, I suppose.. but yes, it is taking advantage of their situation. This is why I never buy designer clothing.. Funny how it is mostly made in these poverty stricken countries yet overpriced when on the racks, you have their ADVERTISEMENT/logo/label that idiots believe is a status symbol on the products & the designer is living it up with no care as long as they can drive their BMW. (Source: Spawnofstardust 2014: link)
We pay 20 times for a T-shirt compare how much she gets in Bangladesh, shame on the garments and the company. (Source: Riaz Uddin 2016: link)
Nice exposure.. That’s when something wrong is changed. (Source: Jason M 2014: link)
Is it possible that Bangladesh is just a cheaper place to live, hence the ‘lower’ wages? I know some places in Indonesia where you can get what is considered a mansion here in the USA for only around $100,000. (Source: TheInvisibleCactus 2014: link)
This makes me appreciate my t-shirt more (Source: Llammy 2017: link)
Superb. An excellent series and one that gives an insight not only into T-shirts but the world of commerce and the issues surrounding the economic model of consumption. (Source: Peter Carney 2014: link)
Awesome story..hope i get to meet Jasmine one day though. (Source: rain in my eyes 2014: link)
This was a great series. Would love to see more like this. The things we take for granted… (Source: FesterWerks 2014: link)
You’re like Mr. Rogers now, showing us how things are made. You left out the graphic designer and the printing. Will there be another video to show them? (Source: Stephanie Eastwood 2014: link)
You should sell a t-shirt that has a pie chart showing where all the parts of the cost are going, with the proceeds benefitting a garment workers rights organisation (Source: Jarris2 2015: link)
Impacts / Outcomes
It’s just eye-opening and important to understand the implications and stories behind our decisions about what we buy and the market demands we create. (Source: Leber 2013: link)
The Planet Money project has created a community that has increased the awareness of how our clothes are made and the journey that they go through. This community is able to interact with each other through Instagram where this platform allows like minded people to share their posts and excitement of this t-shirt through the hashtag seedtoshirt. (Source: Instagram, 2018 link)
Image Left: ‘Ernesto Plays Ping-Pong and sings Karaoke while at sea’ (Source: NPR, 2013, 3: Link)
Image Right: ‘Surprisingly, a very good pingpong player #seedtoshirt‘ (Source: NPR, 2013, 3)
‘This project has created a growing media following and raises the question of how we shop’ (Source: Consumerist, 2013: Link)
Planet money call it their ‘most well-known story’ (Source: NPR, 2013, 3: Link)
‘This project has prompted people to think not just about the item of clothing but the relations and people that make their clothes’ (Source: Consumerist, 2013: Link)
“I feel that this definitely raised awareness of the product,” (Source: Weiss 2014: link)
‘Gives the potential to learn a tonne about the economy’ (Source: NPR 2013, 4: Link)
“The completeness of the coverage and the presentation is really good. From conception to the follow through in reporting and video, it’s really really complete. … Even just the approach, they didn’t start off with the T-shirt. They started off with, how do we explain globalization.” (Source: Schneider, 2014: Link)
‘The biggest take away was that this story was way more complicated than I’d sort of realised, and than it sometimes gets represented’ (Source: NPR, 2013. 2: Link)
‘I think I speak for a lot of listeners who have voiced this feeling that they’re never going to look at a tshirt in quite the same way’ (Source: NPR, 2013. 2: Link)
‘Planet Money’s journey to the world of T-shirt creation shows this wall is actually not too difficult to pass through, which makes you wonder why we don’t see this kind of reporting from businesses. Why don’t 99.9 percent of companies have a websites like the one Planet Money created for every major product they sell? Is there a reason that companies that truly believe in transparency and responsibility won’t meet this bar?’ (Source: Godelnik, 2013: Link)
References / Further Reading
Angela (2014), comment on: YOU: Planet Money Makes A T-Shirt (Part V). (2013). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Amsk9_dJc [Accessed 26 Oct. 2018].
Baldwin, S. and Ching, Y. (2016). Interactive Storytelling: Opportunities for Online Course Design. TechTrends, [online] 61(2), pp.179-186. Available at: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11528-016-0136-2.pdf [Accessed 25 Oct. 2018].
Barrett, J. (2013) comment on Godelkin, R. (2013) 4 Sustainability lessons from planet money’s tshirt, triple pundit, 13 December, available at (https://www.triplepundit.com/2013/12/4-lessons-sustainability-planet-moneys-shirt/) accessed 26/10/18
Consumerist (2013) twitter (2018) available at < https://twitter.com/consumerist/status/408330989547429888 > accessed 18/10/18
Dries, K (2013) Meet the women who make the t-shirt you’re wearing right now, Jezebel, 5th December, available at (https://jezebel.com/meet-the-women-who-make-the-t-shirt-youre-wearing-right-1477078487) accessed 18/10/18
FesterWerks (2014), comment on: YOU: Planet Money Makes A T-Shirt (Part V). (2013). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Amsk9_dJc [Accessed 26 Oct. 2018].
GAguon (2018), comment on: COTTON: Planet Money Makes A T-Shirt (Part I). (2013). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYa4zneKbeY&t=15s [Accessed 26 Oct. 2018].
Godelnik, R. (2013). 4 Sustainability Lessons from Planet Money’s T-shirt. [online] Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit. Available at: https://www.triplepundit.com/2013/12/4-lessons-sustainability-planet-moneys-shirt/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2018].
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Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt 