I can't believe that we've already raced through into March! It
seems only yesterday that I was writing up my
End of Year post and
thinking of my hopes for 2015.
Despite that feeling of time flying by, I've stuck to my
three-per-month book goal, this time getting in a couple of non-fictions along
with the usual fiction.
Two of the books I read this month have been presents on
consecutive Christmases. If you're wondering why I took so long to get around
to reading them, it probably has to do with my ever-growing reading pile, and
my
insatiable book-buying habit ;)
So here's the result of this month's reading: eye-opening
and serious, quirky and eccentric!
As usual I've rated them out of five according to overall
enjoyment.
No Logo - Naomi Klein
(4/5)
This was in the recommended reading list in the back of
Scarlett Thomas'
PopCo, which I
read last month.
It also happened to show up in a local charity shop, so
naturally I handed over the bargain 50p to the cause of underprivileged people
of the world, in exchange for this book...which is all about multinational
brands, the terrible overseas sweatshops that supply their goods (at the cost
of the lives, limbs, and human rights of its workers), and the activism that
has tried to bring these matters to light. So basically, rich brands and the
underprivileged.
The book is very eye-opening, and to begin with I felt as
though I should be taking notes! I think we're all aware that workers in
foreign factories are poorly paid, and have to work in bad conditions, but
through brand PR about codes of conduct and strict inspections (also touched
upon in the book) we're easily persuaded that Things Are Okay Now.
As this book is fifteen years old, I'd be interested to know
how - or if - the situations described within have changed.
Considering the collapse of
Rana Plaza
- an eight storey Bangladeshi building that housed a garment factory - in 2013,
I'd assume the answer is that conditions
haven't
changed.
Considered to be the worst garment factory accident in
history, the collapse killed 1,129 and injured over 2,500 workers. Some were
still missing when the search was called off.
Some of the companies whose clothes were being made at Rana Plaza
were among the many who claimed to have codes of conduct for factory conditions
and treatment of workers in the sub-contracted factories. Some made donations
towards a trust fund following the disaster,
but many didn't.
So I went a little off-tangent here. Returning to the
subject of the book, I found it informative, and the contents somewhat
shocking. I'd have given this a 5/5 but for the fact I found the font hard to
read, and the book itself a little difficult to get into.
By the way, going by the current exchange rate, the 50p
(£0.50) I paid for the book would have paid a 'young helper' at Rana Plaza
for an entire 6.25 hours of work, a 'junior operator' for 3.4 hours, or a
'senior sewer' for 3.1 hours. Yet for me, it was a bit of pocket change. Really
puts it into perspective, doesn't it?
Despite the cold and wind, the weather was also clear and sunny! When we reached the abbey, I realised the sun had a 'halo', which is a phenomenon that happens when light interacts with ice crystals in the air. (Wikipedia page)
