Because my trusted valet, Finial Pádraig Horan, is unwell with a fugue and his termagant wife, Margaret Mary Siobhan, finds herself in a cooking sherry-induced delirium, I was ironing my new cotton trousers just now. The label says “Made in Viet Nam” and “Hemmed in China”. This sparked a quest for manufacturing facts and figures - and ended up with an important political question. Turns out, the simple, inexpensive T-shirt one throws on with a backwards baseball cap and cargo shorts has probably traveled to more countries than you have. The US exports more cotton than any nation on earth and, since the 1950s, cotton yields have tripled here. One big American farm can supply enough raw cotton for nine million shirts. But what happens next?
© 2024 John Oliver
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