So since I'm leaving for Cape Town, South Africa for roughly three months in a few days, I thought writing something about Africa seemed pretty appropriate. The tough part though, is deciding exactly what to write. Once again, as it seems to always happen, inspiration came from a highly random source: a t-shirt, or rather, a tag on a t-shirt.
This one requires a backstory: A couple weeks ago when I was visiting my cousin in Chicago I was walking around downtown in a sundress and cardigan when, in typical Midwest fashion, the weather completely turned on us and it was freezing outside. I had already bought a pair of khaki capris so we went into Nordstrom and I bought a t-shirt to wear so I could put on my new pants and be warmer (unfortunately it continued to get colder and it didn't make much of a difference anyway). I found a plain white v-neck t-shirt on sale, bought it, and went in the dressing room to change when I noticed the logo on the tag. The shirt was made by a company called "Threads for Thought" and their tags boast sustainable production practices, organic cotton, and an outline of Africa, implying subtly that their name combined with a picture of Africa will help sell the shirts.
After I noticed this I looked into Threads for Thought and was disappointed, but not really surprised at what I found. It turns out that their connection to the continent they rely upon for marketing is, go figure, a charitable one. I hoped that their products were perhaps produced somewhere in Africa or at least made from materials of African origin. Nope. My shirt was made from US materials and assembled in Mexico. So instead of partnering with cotton farmers or textile producers in Africa to make clothes, Threads for Thought treats the continent like a charity case. In the company's blog, they even refer to Africa as "one of the three most critical challenges we face on our planet," with the environment and conflict being the other two.
Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely praiseworthy that their products are made of organic cotton and other sustainable materials; and the charities to which they donate (The International Rescue Committee and The National Resources Defense Council) do very important, laudable work. Their use of Africa as purely a marketing tool to attract well-intentioned consumers, however, is definitely not okay. This is especially disappointing since business organizations like Threads for Thought are exactly the ones that should stray away from the perpetuation of Africa as a tragic, sad place that we all need to help by participating in capitalism and buying things. In other words, I'd have a lot more respect for T4T if they treated Africa and Africans as partners in development rather than recipients of Western handouts and a "critical challenge" we have to address. (What exactly does that mean, anyway? In my mind, challenge implies something that must be overcome, so we have to 'overcome' Africa? Seriously?)
Because as it stands now, I'd only buy another t-shirt from them if I was even more desperate than I was in Chicago.
But that's just what I think.
PS-To my four loyal readers who aren't my family and thus feel obligated to read these posts, my entries for the next few months will be all about my time in Cape Town. Probably lots of anecdotes and observations, but I'll try and shake it up a bit to keep things interesting. Enjoy :)
This is an excellently written, concise and insightful piece, my curious friend. You made some very valuable points about the problematization of a whole continent. Today's images of the developing world in general and Africa in particular are hardly different from images of these non-Western areas in colonial times. These images and the language they produce, of course, in turn, shaped the way these places and their people are perceived and treated by the producers of the images, often the ones in power.
ReplyDeleteThese colonizing discourses of development are fascinating to me, particularly the way they shape the way well-meaning folk in the West interact with people from the Third World. Perhaps you can tell, haha. I often have trouble explaining why I wouldn't want Product(Red) or "Save Darfur" wristbands everywhere to the nice, liberal and (often) white folk on campus who preach this variety of activism. Maybe that is so because I was much closer to a Third World narrative before I set foot here and am just more familiar with it.
At any rate, keep the pen to the paper, Cat Lady. More people need to question the way we think about the issues you highlight herein.
Might I add that I have two cats nestled in my lap as I leave these comments on your essay?