In The News

WWD: Global Retailers Call for Action on Labor Issues in Bangladesh

Mayu Saini February 14, 2017
Fashion loses its allure when associated with horrific factory conditions. “In a letter addressed to prime minister Sheikh Hasina by the steering committee of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety global retailers called for the release of detained worker leaders after the December unrest in Ashulia, and a wage review mechanism to address the increased cost of living in Bangladesh,”...

Can Trump – or Anyone – Bring Back US Manufacturing?

December 8, 2016
US voters and politicians worry about the loss of manufacturing and assembly jobs, which carry a wage premium over most service jobs. Yet numerous economists and other analysis express doubt that such jobs can quickly be restored in the United States. “The biggest reason Trump — or anyone else — can’t bring back jobs is because there is nowhere to bring them back from,” notes an article from...

In Your Phone, In Their Air

Peter Whoriskey October 28, 2016
Lithium batteries in smartphones and laptops include graphite. “The companies making those products promote the bright futuristic possibilities of the ‘clean’ technology,” reports Peter Whoriskey for the Washington Post. “But virtually all such batteries use graphite, and its cheap production in China, often under lax environmental controls, produces old-fashioned industrial pollution.” China...

Study: Climate Change in East Asia Caused by China’s Air Pollution

Viola Zhou September 13, 2016
Manufacturers reduced costs by relocating factories to China where wages were low and regulations few. Researchers from China, Britain and the United States published a study in Nature Geoscience that suggests China’s role in producing goods for the West is contributing to a changing climate for East Asia. New climate patterns are linked to factory and export activities, as well as a reliance on...

China’s Glut, Exports Could Threaten World Economy

Börje Ljunggren August 11, 2016
China came to the aid of the stricken global economy in 2008 with record stimulus funds. But that stimulus injection encouraged debt and overcapacity in key markets like steel and aluminum, explains Börje Ljunggren, author and former Swedish ambassador to China. The country’s total debt has more than doubled, now exceeding 250 percent of GDP. China accounts for half of global output in steel and...

It’s Just a Stealth Reform

Nayan Chanda July 25, 2016
The Indian government is promoting textile and garment production to restore the country’s manufacturing prowess while also slipping in labor reforms. “By highlighting subsidies and higher wages for workers while increasing the hiring and firing power of employers the government has adopted the tactic of stealth reform,” writes Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, in his column for...

“Brexit” Could Send Shock Waves Across US and Global Economy

Ylan Q. Mui June 22, 2016
The United States is the biggest foreign investor in the United Kingdom, and US firms regard the nation as a base for trading with the rest of the European Union. The US and the UK each have about a half trillion dollars’ worth of foreign direct investment and employ about a million workers in the other. “The heavy-equipment giant Caterpillar exemplifies the dilemma facing American businesses in...