Made on Earth

Translated from the German, Made on Earth explores some of the human consequences of global manufacturing, trade and retail, through the life cycle of a red fleece. The fleece is bought by the author from a department store and, when it gets stained, consigned to a recycling bin. It is subsequently spotted by him in a television news report, being worn by an African refugee who is rescued from a capsized boat in the Canary Islands. How has it got there? What are the connections between a comfortable journalist in Western Europe and a poor Senegalese, braving the journey across the Atlantic to an imagined better life in Spain? Wolfgang Korn begins with the ordering of the fleece by the German retailer and tracks its journey from raw material in the oil fields of Dubai, through the polyester production and textile factories of Bagladesh, to shops in Europe. And then, back again, from the recycling bin to an African market stall. At each step along the way, we meet someone caught up, usually unhappily, in this global chain, surviving on the edge, working long hours for little pay in dangerous conditions, without legal or union protection; or like Adame, the African refugee, unemployed and poor, desperate to better himself. Following the fleece from hour to hour, day to day, the story steadily reveals how the consumer choices of the prosperous West help to determine the lives of the poor in the developing world. For the most part, Korn’s approach is unemotional and matter-of-fact, although it’s clear where his sympathies lie. And, interesting and painstaking as the story is, its blow by blow approach does make for a rather dry, if conscience jolting, read. The final chapter properly exhorts us all to make ethical choices in our purchases. The book comes complete with a glossary, a full index, a short (mostly adult) list of further reading, useful website addresses, and details of two DVDs to further our understanding.