Double~take | t-shirts

I

am now really curious as to the origins of the t-shirt, because for some reason this year they’ve really come to my attention. It started out to be all bad, but now the tide has well and truly turned.

1. I was told some North American organisations send second hand/surplus t-shirts by the tonne to third world countries. They sell them very cheaply, but then local clothing producers are undercut when they can’t compete with the prices.
2. T-shirts are apparently not appropriate fashionable attire for women. I should be wearing blouses, or nice tops. T-shirts are not cool - no matter how neat they are. Kids, youth and men only.
3. I make the discovery that after a year overseas I have managed to accumulate no less than eight free t-shirts. More than the entire rest of my life…
4. I make another discovery that a solid 75% of my total t-shirt collection now mentions The Salvation Army in some way, either by name, or logo.
5. Upon my boss’ insistence on casual wear at work, I ignore all the fashion restrictions on women wearing t-shirts. My boss, as it happens, notices and reads each different t-shirt, eventually starts to wonder who I will be endorsing today; and finally is well and truly aware that I’m a Salvo, by means of my extensive wardrobe. On an hour-long drive to inspect some houses he tells me about his past exploration into religion, and we have an amicable discussion on what The Salvation Army is about.
6. Finally, my sister’s dog ate a t-shirt she got in the Netherlands on an international Salvation Army scouting jamboree last year. She’s crushed, so I email a Dutch friend to see if I can buy another one. He barely manages it, because we find out that the Dutch scouting organizers have sent a gift of jamboree t-shirts to the 200 odd dejected African scouts who were unable to obtain visas in time for the camp. I ask my friend to tell the organizer he’s awesome.

I could go on with many stories of New York t-shirts, foreign language t-shirts… Elijah’s cloak once parted water? I think the t-shirt can hold its own. ☺

Double~take appears every Saturday on theRubicon. Find past Double~take posts and a bio of Stephanie Hung here.

 

2 Comments to Double~take | t-shirts

1. i am partial to t-shirts, especially the new york variety.
   re point #1: on a ‘behind the scenes’ visit to a salvation army donation depot earlier this year, the guy who was showing us around proudly pointed out the stacks of compressed ‘t-shirt blocks’ that they had made to ship to developing countries. because i knew something of the effects that this ostensibly charitable act would have on the local economies of recipient countries, the sight of those blocks deeply troubled me. to me those blocks were emblematic of the inconsistencies that i have noticed in the SA’s practices; on the one hand we support micro-credit economic projects in India, on the other hand we (at least the SA in the west) engage in activities that perpetuate injustice (the t-shirts being one example).

   but it’s not just a salvation army or an institutional problem. i think everyday i am realizing more and more that the world is painted in many shades of grey and there are very few purely good and wholly just actions. as someone who is trying to work for good in the world this is a disheartening notion. if i trace the consequences and ripple effects of any action i take, it seems somewhere down the line some injustice is perpetuated. we live in a world in which the simple act of clothing the naked is now loaded with
   political and economic implications. has it always been this complicated?

   i actually find this complexity very hard to deal with on a cognitive level. so i can understand why for some, ignorance IS bliss. i can understand why some feel defeated and resigned to the status quo.

   your t-shirt post sure got me thinking…
grace on November 10th, 2007

2. The sad truth is our leftover clothing is having a negative ecomonic impact on the third and fourth world. It’s not limited to t-shirts but in many parts of Africa, children are dressed in old “Tim Horton’s” uniforms. The first step in the cultural imperialism of Canada.

   Second, this is a great blog on the t-shirt, certainly it is now becoming a part of geek chic. The t-shirt is the place where we declare our allegiance to our favourite Operating System, (ubuntu), web based video show (diggnation) or comments about cult TV programs. Don’t be afraid to wear the t shirt, it is our identity.

   By the way, where did you get the “Blogito ergo sum” t shirt, that would be great in my collection.
Paul on November 13th, 2007

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