Jeansland Podcast
This is why I do this. Jeansland is a podcast about the ecosystem in which jeans live. There are an estimated 26 million cotton farmers around the world, and about 25% of their production goes into jeans, which could mean 6.2 million farmers depend on denim. I read estimates that at least 1 million people work in retail selling jeans, and another 1.5 to 2 million sew them. And then there are all the label producers, pattern makers, laundries, chemical companies, machinery producers, and those that work in denim mills. I mean, the jeans industry, which is bigger than the global movie and music business combined, employs a lot of human beings. And many of them, like me, love jeans. The French philosopher and existentialist Simone de Beauvoir, when visiting New York, said, "Everyone in the New York subway is a novel." I never met her, but I guess she made the observation because of the incredible diversity of people who ride the subway system. I'm convinced the people in our jeans industry are like those in the subway. They are unique, with rich and complex stories to tell, and I want to hear them. And deep inside me, I think you might feel the same way.
https://jeansland.co/
Jeansland Podcast
Ep. 33: Why Are Jeans So Cheap?
Andrew rewinds to 1980 in this solo short. Cotton has been priced at 80-cents a pound ever since, while everything else (burgers, beef, coffee, gas) keeps inflating honestly. Farmers work harder for the same pay, garment workers get pushed offshore to 60-cent wages, and polyester quietly takes over as “oil in disguise.”
Jeans don’t get cheaper because of efficiency. They get cheaper because the system is stacked against the farmer, the worker, and the planet.
Listen to this episode short and find out the real cost of cheap jeans.
Listen Now at Jeansland.co