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Jul 2024
1h 16m

A BREATHER: Making Clothes in China

JORDAN SCHNEIDER
About this episode

This is a show about globalization, fashion design, and the future of manufacturing-based economic growth.

For a breather from the election chaos, ChinaTalk interviewed Will Lasry, Montreal-based designer, manufacturing specialist, and founder of Glass Factory. Will and his team are on a mission to make manufacturing transparent. They fly all around the world making documentaries on clothing factories and playing matchmaker between designers and producers. Check out his Youtube channel here. 

We discuss: 

  • How clothes are made, including the complicated processes behind distressed denim and other trends; 
  • What makes a country an ideal destination for manufacturing clothing, and whether rising labor costs will drive the industry out of China entirely;
  • Xinjiang cotton, environmental destruction, and other unethical practices hanging over the fashion industry;
  • Why Gucci and other high-end designers are betting that “Made in India” will soon be even more chic than “Made in Italy.” 


Co-hosting today is longtime ChinaTalk editor Irene Zhang.

Outtro music: Vinida Weng - WAIYA! (Youtube Link)

Thumbnail image: Link.

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