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1/14/10: The Cost of a Two-Dollar T-Shirt

photo: Alexa Noor/Creative Commons via flickr
photo: Alexa Noor/Creative Commons via flickr

By Doug Fabrizio

Salt Lake City, Utah – In 1999, Cambodia signed an agreement with the US to improve labor conditions in its garment industry. Since then, apparel has grown to three-quarters of the nation's exports, with most of that headed to stores like Nike, Gap and Walmart. But while Cambodia has gained a "sweat-free" reputation, workers are still making a mere 33 cents an hour. Journalist Ken Silverstein went to Cambodia posing as an American businessman and he joins Doug to talk about the human cost of a two-dollar t-shirt.

Ken Silverstein's article Shopping for Sweat: The human cost of a two-dollar T-shirt appears in the current issue of Harper's Magazine.

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