Are You Willing to Alter Your Fashion for Ethics? (Do Now #81)

May 17, 2013, 7:54 pm • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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Ts

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Do Now

Would you pay more for clothes if they were manufactured ethically i.e. produced in a factory with fair working conditions and wages? What would ethical shopping look like to you?

Before answering, look at a garment that you recently purchased and find out the brand and where it was made. Take a picture and tweet it with the info (or post it in the comments section below).

Introduction

Two weeks ago, KQED Do Now examined the human cost of making clothing cheaply, stating that U.S. fashion companies design their merchandise in the United States and then outsource the labor in countries like Bangladesh where workers are paid very little to sew the garments. Has the tragedy in Bangladesh changed our thinking? Have we made the connection between the cost of clothes and the conditions of these factories? Are we ready to acknowledge the human costs of this relentless fashion treadmill and shop ethically? If workers are to be paid a living wage, would we be prepared to pay more for clothes?

Take a look at the label on your latest bargain, those trendy, cheap items from stores such as H&M, Esprit, Lee, Wrangler, Nike, J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart. Where were these clothes made?

In her book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, journalist Elizabeth L. Cline describes buying “seven pairs of $7 shoes” at Kmart and admits to being a “reformed fast-fashion junkie. She writes “because of low prices, chasing trends is now a mass activity, accessible to anyone with a few bucks to spare.” Fashion trends dangle the constant lure of display and self branding in front of us and the drive to keep up becomes relentless. Quality is not the issue, but the fear of losing face in the social mirror.

There is now an “ethical fashion” movement and clothing companies like H&M, for example, has a “Conscious Collection.” American Apparel and Fair Trade Fashion offer natural, organic cotton or hand made clothing and sweatshop free production. Is then organic and locally produced clothing a way of shopping ethically? Does it also become a marketing strategy?

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Do Now #80: What Makes a Good Citizen?

May 10, 2013, 6:49 pm • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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photo by USDAgov/Flickr

photo by USDAgov/Flickr

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Do Now

What makes a good citizen? What should be required of a citizen and how do you prove worthiness?

Introduction

Last month, there was quite a rich conversation on KQED Do Now about immigration reform, as students examined the proposed changes to legal immigration to the United States and the path to obtaining citizenship. The discussion focused on immigrant rights and what policy should be put into place to attain citizenship. It invited a further question that examines more deeply the whole idea of citizenship and asks what makes a good citizen? What should be required of a citizen? Does the current application system measure worthiness or should different criteria be taken into consideration? Do you feel you meet these criteria yourself?

The USCIS website specifies what is required to seek US citizenship and clearly explains the value:

“Deciding to become a U.S. citizen is one of the most important decisions in an individual’s life. If you decide to apply to become a U.S. citizen, you will be showing your commitment to the United States and your loyalty to its Constitution. In return, you are rewarded with all the rights and privileges that are part of U.S. citizenship.”

But what is important here? Should a good citizen be able to demonstrate commitment through some kind of community involvement, like cleaning beaches, taking care of the environment, or community service? In other words are good character and social responsibility important?

How about social contribution such as skills and expertise or the ability and willingness to work, especially in areas where there is demand for labor.

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Do Now #79: Saving the Honey Bees

May 7, 2013, 8:22 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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KQED QUEST

KQED QUEST

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Do Now

Are we doing enough to protect honey bees? How might this environmental issue impact you? What do you think will happen if there are no more honey bees?

Introduction

Since 2006, honey bees have been dying at an alarming rate. The event, called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has killed about one third of all honey bees within the US.

We depend on honey bees to pollinate crops that we eat every day—apples, cucumbers, blueberries, broccoli, onions, pumpkins, carrots, avocados, almonds, strawberries, soybeans, watermelon, and more. The bees’ services are estimated to be worth $20-30 billion in agricultural production annually in the US alone.

Researchers have found links to CCD with certain pesticides called neonicotinoids. Last month, nations within the European Union voted a two-year ban on neonicotinoids to protect honey bees.

The US Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency came out with a 72-page report on honey bee health determining that pesticides in combination with other factors—including parasitic mites, low genetic diversity in bees, and poor nutrition—are contributing to CCD. Neither organization recommends banning neonicotinoids as the EU has done, but would like beekeepers and growers to collaborate on best practices with use of pesticides.

The US organizations will update an action plan to include priorities in combating CCD over the next 5-10 years.

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Do Now #78: Fast Fashion at a High Cost

May 3, 2013, 10:03 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Garment factory in Bangladesh, photo by Fahad Faisal/Wikimedia Commons

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Do Now

Should fashion companies like H & M and Zara be responsible for the manufacturing of their clothing even though they don't own the factories? What should be their role? What is the role of the consumer? What is the role of government?

Introduction

Last week a garment factory building collapsed outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, leaving over 500 workers dead. Labor organizers argue that this tragedy could easily have been prevented if factory regulations were put in place to ensure safer working conditions. However, the lack of regulations allows fashion companies to pay less money for the manufacturing of their clothing, making it cheaper for people to buy the products in stores. Should the effort to sell clothing at such a low price justify the hiring of garment factories with poor and dangerous working conditions?

What makes clothing so cheap? U.S. fashion companies design their merchandise in the United States and then outsource the labor in countries like Bangladesh where workers are paid very little to sew the garments. According to Elizabeth Cline in her book Over-Dressed factories like these in Bangladesh pump out what she calls "fast fashion," or clothes made on the cheap by big chains such as H&M, Zara, Esprit, Lee, Wrangler, Nike, J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart.

According to Cline, these factories are unregulated. There are power outages six times a day, infrastructure problems, but the labor is so cheap and gives companies a competitive advantage. In China, where 15 million people work in the garment industry, the cost of labor has gone up recently so companies are looking elsewhere to manufacture clothing. But Bangladesh can't keep up with China's infrastructure to produce such a high volume of clothing, so they buckle under the pressure and mistakes happen like a building collapse or a large building fire in November.

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Do Now #77: What is the Definition of Terrorism?

April 26, 2013, 8:24 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Photo by Aaron Tang/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo by Aaron Tang/commons.wikimedia.org

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Do Now

How should the U.S. government define terrorism?

Introduction

Two weeks ago, on April 15, two bombs exploded at the finish line during the Boston Marathon, leaving three people dead and injured at least 250. It was a horrific act that brought the nation together in support of the families of the victims as well as the Boston community. As the aftermath unfolded, questions were raised whether this was a terrorist attack or not.

As Howard Koplowitz mentions in his article in the International Business Times, "When he addressed the country around 6:15 p.m. EDT, President Barack Obama was criticized in some circles for not using the words 'terrorism' or 'terror' to describe the explosions that rocked Copley Square during the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon….But just 15 minutes later, the Obama administration said the twin bombings were 'acts of terror.'"

Consequently, this shift in identification of the act raises questions about the way our government defines terrorism. In the 1980s, during the Reagan Administration, journalists and scholars claimed that perhaps the definition of "terrorism" is quite subjective, depending on a person's political point of view. Clarence Page wrote in a Chicago Tribune article in May 1986, "When President Reagan decided to use the term 'freedom fighters' to describe the Nicaraguan contras, he fell into an old word trap. One person`s 'freedom fighter' is someone else`s 'terrorist.'" Page references that both geographic location and ideology factor into the definition of "terrorism."

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Do Now #76: What's Your Illustrated Story?

April 23, 2013, 6:51 pm • Posted by Kristin Farr
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Maira Kalman

Maira Kalman

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Do Now

Artists often use true stories to inspire their artwork. Which of your personal stories would you illustrate? What is a story from your life that would make a compelling series of illustrations?

Introduction

Illustrator Wendy MacNaughton creates her own "drawn journalism" by embedding herself in communities, talking to people, and drawing images based on their personal stories. She created a book about the San Francisco Public Library and its frequent visitors, and is currently working on a book about the stories behind people's tattoos.

MacNaughton's approach to storytelling is unique, and there are many other artists who have developed their own styles of drawn journalism. There is an entire genre, non-fiction graphic novels, with examples such as Chris Ware's substantial collection, Building Stories, which chronicles the lives of a group of people who share an apartment building in Chicago. Below, listen to Chris Ware discuss his approach to "giving shape to the human experience" in 19 seconds.

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Do Now #75: Immigration Reform - The Path to Citizenship

April 19, 2013, 7:10 pm • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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Naturalization Ceremony, Commander US 7th Fleet/Flickr

Naturalization Ceremony, Commander US 7th Fleet/Flickr

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Do Now

Who should be considered for a path to citizenship? Do you agree with the proposed immigration reform bill? What is a fair/equitable approach?

Introduction

The Gang of Eight, as the eight bipartisan US Senators have been termed, has managed to reach a compromise on immigration reform after months of negotiating. Their immigration reform bill is a trade off between the four Republicans and four Democrats allowing many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants to seek U.S. citizenship, in exchange for way stricter border security standards.

"This is a very balanced bill," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the lead Democratic negotiator. "The American people have told us to do two things. One, prevent future flows of illegal immigration, and then come up with a common sense solution for legal immigration. And that's what our bill does."

The bill also makes changes to how foreigners can legally immigrate to the United States going forward. These changes are intended to make the process easier. However, only immigrants who came to the country before Dec. 31, 2011 can apply. To process the application undocumented immigrants will have to pay $500 plus assessed taxes, as well as processing fees and then it would take 10 years to obtain a green card. Gaining full citizenship would take another three years. Those convicted of serious crimes are not eligible to apply.

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Do Now #74: Earth Day

April 13, 2013, 9:17 am • Posted by Andrea Swensrud
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photo restored by Royce Blair/Flickr

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Do Now

Do you make it a regular practice to care for the environment? If so, what do you do? If not, why?

Introduction

The first Earth Day celebration was held on April 20, 1970. Its founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson, developed the idea over a seven-year period after he realized that political leaders were not making environmental issues a priority. Senator Nelson began a massive grassroots effort among his colleagues and in local communities. Twenty million people participated in the first Earth Day. They became part of a change that continues today.

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Do Now #73: An Acidic Ocean For All?

April 10, 2013, 6:47 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences

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Do Now

Why does ocean acidification matter? What role can you play?

Introduction

Over the past one hundred years or so, the ocean has absorbed the carbon dioxide (CO₂) released into the environment from burning fossil fuels. Absorbing these emissions makes our oceans more acidic. This change in the ocean’s pH level is called ocean acidification. As the pH levels change, we face increasing threats to our ocean health, marine life and even our economy (i.e. industries such as fisheries and tourism).

One of the most harmful effects of ocean acidification is a decrease in marine organisms’ ability to grow structures like skeletons and shells. Corals are especially under attack; higher acidity slows their growth and makes their skeletons weaker. Since coral reefs are home to at least a quarter of all marine species, losing such a habitat would have drastic effects for our global food chain.

Though ocean acidification is a relatively new topic of discussion for scientists, it has caught the attention of several groups around the world to speak and act in support of our oceans. In an article in Scientific American, Virginia Gewin writes, “Washington State, a leading U.S. producer of farmed shellfish, has launched a $3.3-million, science-based plan to address this growing problem for the region and the globe.” There are other actions and studies taking place in the scientific community as well. The Science Daily writes that at Stanford University, scientists are seeking the sea urchin's secret to surviving ocean acidification.

How much of a threat does ocean acidification have on our ecosystem and food chain?

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Do Now #72: North Korea's Threat of Attack

April 5, 2013, 6:59 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour

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Do Now

How do you think the U.S. should respond to North Korea's threat to deploy nuclear weapons on its neighbors and even the United States? Why? Is this a credible threat?

Introduction

In recent years, North Korea has made several threats to develop and deploy nuclear weapons on countries like South Korea, Japan, and even the United States. These type of threats were never met with major concern as it seemed clear that North Korea was not close to building weapons grade nuclear materials nor had the capability to fire long range missiles outside its border. Well, things have changed.

Now, it seems that North Korea is much closer to reaching the capability of deploying such weapons. All of this started when North Korea conducted new nuclear tests in February, which in turn prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose new sanctions on the North. And last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a plan to put strategic rockets on standby to be fired at the United States and its bases in the Pacific at any time.

It is unclear at the moment how serious or credible the threat is to the U.S, however, the U.S. government announced last Wednesday that it was deploying an advanced missile defense system to Guam as a precautionary measure against these threats from North Korea. The resource below provides three perspectives on the conflict. What do you think? Does this action seem necessary? Is it too passive or aggressive? How should the United States handle this very delicate situation?

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