The silk industry

[USAmma]

Has anyone seen the latest National Geographic? It has a disturing story on modern slaves. Including at a place in India called Kanchipuram that makes silk. I recognized this place right away because that's where my wedding saris were bought, and most of my IL's will buy silks from there because it's considered the best. Made me sick to read the article. I did a little more searching and found this article (below). I wrote my SIL about it and she's going to do some research on her end because she lives close to Kanchipuram. I've already opened her eyes to the leather industry in India and she no longer buys leather (bless her heart!). Now this.

Apologies about the article below is so long. I got it off a newsgroup and can't find the original, otherwise I'd post a link instead.

I just wanted to put this out here to spread the word not only on how silk is made in the first place but at what cost. I'm certainly never going to buy any more silk, esp. from India!

Darshani
-------------------------
NBC News


June 23 — Silk is synonymous with luxury and it’s a
luxury almost everyone
can afford — and maybe there’s a reason for that.
“Dateline” spent many months
and traveled thousands of miles to uncover one of
silk’s secrets. And what we
found may change the way you feel about silk,
correspondent Chris Hansen
reports, in this hidden-camera investigation.


[i]Admin Note: Article removed due to copyright violation. Sorry folks! [/a]

[Els' 3 Ones]

That and Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and even here in the US.............


Keep shopping at Walmart and Kohls for all the cheap products!! It'll make you feel wealthy.............

:Puke

Clean Clothes Campaign

[http://www.nlcnet.org/campaigns/]The National Labor Committee[/URL]

Back to reality, just look at what Michael Eisner can do when he sets his mind to it. When Eisner's close friend Michael Ovitz had to depart as Disney's president after just 14 very mediocre months, Eisner saw to it that Ovitz left with a severance package worth $138 million (New York Times article, pdf). That comes to $9.9 million dollars in severance pay for every month worked, $2.3 million per week, and about $45,000 an hour. Michael Eisner wrote to his friend Ovitz: I am committed to make this a win-win situation, to keep our friendship intact, to be positive, to say and write only glowing things."

All the way down to coffee: (a la Fourbucks)

What's That in Your Coffee?

Thanks for the info on silk.


El

[SpiralWoman]

hi~ we just got our NG today & I have put it on my side table so I can read that article, thanks for the heads up!
maria

[Delilah]

I just heard aobut this.

My dh and I have spent the last year reading more political stuff, so we cancelled our NG sub this January.

Bush has also decided to cut funds for birth control for third world foreign clinics if they suspect they are offering abortion services there also. It's as though no one cares about the perpetuation of slavery as long as the elite have their niceties.

This party of cheap labor is trying to move the middle class downward with cuts in OT pay, outsourcing, and making college too expensive to afford unless already wealthy. Thhey truly are the party of cheap, suppressive labor.

[Quirky]

Darshani, thanks for posting that. Do you have a link to the NBC transcript? I'd love to send it around to some friends via email.

[owensmom]

Thanks Darshani - heard the very end of a talk on Talk of the Nation about this issue of NG... want to get a copy of the mag. I never bought silk for the animal torture of it, now I have one more reason to tell people if they ask! Thanks! What a sad, sad world we live in.

[Mum2Isaac&Solomon]

Is this the article?

http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/770083.asp

Thanks for the info--I was actually considering buying some silk to use in my dipes.

-Melissa.