Originally Posted by jdavis
I've been enlightened, again, by all of you well-informed ladies.
A point I'd like to add, with regard to fabric and manufacturing going overseas is that I worry about the end result on the environment. Other countries don't have the same requirements as far a dangerous materials being used (ie. lead), and what goes into the waste stream. After these beautiful fabrics are dyed/printed, how much of the dyes, etc end up in the water table, or even directly into streams and rivers?
I understand your very valid concern for the environment, and working conditions. It should not be the reason to send all the "dirty work" overseas though. How fair is it to the foreign workers?
A better solution would be to use technology to design and build equipment and processes that clean and recycle the water and dyes needed to manufacture the goods everyone needs. If that was a priority, manufacturing would be a safe industry for every economy - and each region would have the opportunity of jobs to purchase what they make. Any extra could be sold to areas where manufacturing is just not possible for whatever reason.
Clean water is the next huge commodity - and the power over it will literally rule the world.