Chapter 32 The Global Sneaker: From Asia to Everywhere

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Chapter 32The Global Sneaker From Asia to
Everywhere
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I. Geoterms
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• a. Economic interdependence a condition in which
  countries have strong economic ties and depend on
  each other for resources, technology, trade, and
  investment
• b. Free trade the flow of goods and services
  across national borders, with little or no
  government control
• c. Globalization the development of a global, or
  worldwide, society in which people, money,
  information, and goods flow fairly freely across
  national borders
• d. Multinational corporation a large company
  that has operations in more than one country

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II. Introduction
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• i. In the past, most of the products used by our
  grandparents were probably made in their own
  country however, a boom in world trade changed
  that. The globalization of the world economy has
  had an enormous impact on workers, consumers,
  business, and the environment.
• ii. The sneaker is one common manufactured
  product that has become globalized.
  Historically, the sneakers on the feet of most
  Americans were produced in the United States, but
  today most sneakers are made in Asia.

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III. The Geographic Setting
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• a. Introduction
• i. Globalization affects every country in the
  world, but no region has been more involved than
  Asia.
• ii. China, South Korea, and Japan have played a
  major role in the global spread of manufacturing
  and trade.

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• b. The Growth of Globalization
• i. Globalization is the result of a number of
  factors
• 1. Advances in communication and transportation.
• 2. The movement toward free trade
• a. Support for free trade has grown over the past
  60 years.
• b. In 1947, the U.S. and 22 other countries
  signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  (GATT). They agreed to reduce tariffs and other
  barriers to trade. A tariff is a tax on goods
  imported from another country.
• c. The agreement led to the creation of the World
  Trade Organization (WTO), which works to reduce
  trade barriers. By 2005, the WTO had 148 member
  countries.

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• 3. The rise of multinational corporations, which
  are large firms that operate in more than one
  country.
• a. They have become key players within the global
  economy, producing and selling goods and services
  throughout the world.

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• ii. Globalization has brought economic growth to
  many developing countries.
• 1. Resulting in the creation of jobs for millions
  of people.
• 2. Increasing the economic interdependence among
  countries, as countries rely on one another for
  resources, technology, and trade.
• Example Trade between China and the United
  States. Factories in China produce a wide
  variety of goods for export to the United States.
  When the U.S. economy is booming, Americans have
  plenty of money to spend on Chinese products.
  When the economy is not doing so well, Americans
  spend loss on goods. Therefore the jobs of many
  factory workers in China depend on the economic
  health of the United States.

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• c. Athletic Shoe Production Sneaking Away from
  the U.S.
• i. The history of sneaker production shows
  globalization at work.
• ii. Most American companies have moved their
  production to Asia therefore, spending less on
  labor and materials, making it possible for the
  companies to sell sneakers for lower prices and
  still make a profit.

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• iii. A sneaker example the Converse Chuck Taylor
  All Star. Its label once read Made in U.S.A.
  but they are now made in Asia. In 2001, the last
  pair of American made Converse Chuck Taylor All
  Stars came off an assembly line in North
  Carolina.
• iv. Behind every sneaker is a complex process
  that involves design, raw materials,
  manufacturing, and distribution

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IV. Designing a Global Sneaker
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• a. Designing Then A Simple Sports Shoe
• i. Sneakers were first made during the mid-1800s
• 1. They were used for sports like tennis,
  croquet, and running. Later they became popular
  for basketball.

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• ii. For the next 100 years
• The designs of sneakers changed very little.
• a. The upper part of the shoe was fashioned from
  cotton canvas, and the sole was made of rubber.
• b. Buyers could choose from only a few brands and
  styles.
• c. There were high tops and low cuts, usually
  available only in black or white.
• d. Most consumers thought of sneakers only as
  athletic shoes.

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• iii. In the 1950s
• People began to change their view of sneakers.
• a. They became casual shoes for everyday use.
• b. Men, women, and children began wearing them as
  fashion items.

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• b. Designing Now A Complex Fashion Statement
• i. Sneakers are designed for a wide variety of
  purposes and activities.
• ii. Sneaker companies have come up with
  innovative new designs and materials for their
  shoes, resulting in improvements in both
  performance and comfort.
• iii. Todays companies compete with each other to
  design the latest and greatest sneaker.
• iv. New designs and colors have given sneakers
  more fashion appeal. Athletes and musicians are
  often hired to promote their sneakers as cool.

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V. Locating Global Sneaker Materials
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• a. The Complex Upper Mesh Fabric, Leather, and
  More
• i. The upper is the top part of a sneaker.
• ii. Some uppers are made of natural materials,
  such as cotton or leather.
• 1. The leather comes from the hides of cattle
  that are raised in Texas, Venezuela, and other
  livestock centers.
• 2. The cowhides are usually shipped to South
  Korea, where they are made ready for use in
  manufacturing.
• iii. Other uppers are made of synthetic, or
  human-made, materials such as nylon. Nylon
  fabric is light and dries easily.

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• b. The Squishy Midsole Foam Padding and Air Bags
• i. The midsole is the part of the shoe that
  cushions the bottom of your foot.
• ii. It is made of plastic and foam padding.
  These materials are produced from oil found in
  Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich countries.
• iii. Foam used in many sneakers may be produced
  in South Korean factories. Chemicals are poured
  into molds and then baked. In the process, these
  chemicals form millions of tiny gas bubbles that
  give the foam a cushiony feel. Some midsoles
  also contain small air bags filled with
  pressurized gas.

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• c. The Tough Outer Sole Synthetic and Natural
  Rubber Treads
• i. The tread, or sole, of a sneaker needs to be
  tough but also flexible enough to put a spring in
  your step.
• ii. All types of sneakers used to be manufactured
  with natural rubber soles. The rubber came from
  the sap of rubber trees that are grown in such
  tropical countries as Brazil, Indonesia,
  Thailand, and Malaysia.
• iii. Today most soles are formed from synthetic
  rubber, made from coal and oil. Much of the
  synthetic rubber used in sneaker production comes
  from factories on the island of Taiwan.

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VI. Manufacturing the Global Sneaker
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• a. Introduction
• i. A single sneaker may have more than 50 pieces
  and require the work of 120 people to put
  together one pair of shoes.

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• b. What happened to Made in U.S.A.?
• i. Most sneakers used to be made in the countries
  where they were sold.
• ii. In the 1960s, simple canvas and rubber
  sneakers were still being produced in the United
  States, Britain, and Germany.
• iii. In the 1970s, the number of styles
  increased, and the designs became more complex
  therefore, more labor was needed to assemble
  these shoes, and production costs began to rise.
  It became too expensive to make shoes in
  high-wage countries like the United States.

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• c. Production Moves to Low-Wage Countries
• i. Faced with high costs, sneaker companies began
  to move production offshore, or to other
  countries.
• ii. At first, sneaker production moved mainly to
  South Korea, which offered a number of
  advantages. This country had a large pool of
  low-wage workers, factories that could be used to
  make shoes and ports for shipping raw materials.
• iii. Overtime, wages in South Korea rose making
  manufacturing there less profitable.

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• iv. In the 1990s, production shifted to China,
  Indonesia, and Vietnam.
• 1. All three countries offered the same
  advantages once found in South Korea.
• 2. Many of the sneaker factories in these
  countries were set up and run by South Korean
  shoe companies. Rising labor costs at home had
  led the South Korean companies to move their
  production offshore. This was just what American
  and European companies had done 20 years earlier,
  and for the same reasons.

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VII. Distributing the Global Sneaker
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• a. Introduction
• i. Sneaker companies use several methods of
  transportation to move their shoes from the
  factory to the store.

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• b. Across the Globe by Ship
• i. Typically, sneakers are transported by
  container ship from Asia.
• ii. This is the least expensive way to move goods
  over such long distances.
• iii. The trip to the United States takes about
  two weeks, making the journey in freight
  containers, which are large, weatherproof steel
  boxes easily stacked on the deck of a ship. Huge
  container ships can accommodate 8,000 of these
  boxes.

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• c. Across the Country by Train and Truck
• i. When a ship arrives on the west coast of the
  U.S., the containers are unloaded onto trains or
  trucks. In some ports, train tracks run right up
  to the docks to make unloading easier.
• ii. Train or truck transport across the U.S. can
  take a week or longer.
• iii. Most of the sneakers end up in Memphis,
  Tennessee, a major distribution center where rail
  lines and highways meet. The sneakers are stored
  in warehouses in Memphis and then delivered by
  truck to retail stores around the country.
• 1. A truck leaving Memphis in the morning can
  reach approximately 75 percent of the nations
  population by the following day.

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• d. From the Store to Your Home
• i. Sneakers are distributed to approximately
  18,000 stores throughout the U.S.
• ii. By the time a pair of sneakers makes the trek
  from an Asian factory to your home, it may have
  traveled more than 7,000 miles.
• iii. In 2000, Americans bought about 405 million
  pairs of sneakers. That is approximately one and
  a half pairs for every man, woman, and child in
  the United States.
• iv. In 2000, sneaker sales totaled 15 billion in
  the U.S.
• v. The global sneaker is a booming business

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VIII. Beginning to Think Globally
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• a. The Case for Globalization
• i. Globalization has benefits for rich and poor
  countries.
• 1. When companies in wealthy countries set up
  factories in poor countries, they create new
  jobs. The workers who fill these jobs often
  improve their standard of living and the money
  they earn helps bring economic growth to their
  countries.
• 2. Companies that move production offshore do so
  to keep their costs low. Lower production costs
  help them keep their prices low as well. Low
  prices benefit consumers in both rich and poor
  countries. Many working people today can buy
  products that were once considered luxuries only
  the rich could afford.

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• ii. Countries that trade with one another want to
  maintain good relations, making war less likely
  with one another.
• 1. Economic interdependence may contribute to
  creating a more peaceful world.

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• iii. A global society brings the worlds people
  together in ways never before possible.
• 1. It gives us a glimpse into how people live and
  work in other lands.
• 2. It allows us to share and exchange ideas,
  technology, music, and art across vast distances.
  
• 3. As a result, we can grow to understand and
  respect other ways of life.

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• b. The Case Against Globalization
• i. Developing Countries
• 1. Some developing countries lack laws to protect
  the environment.
• a. Factories set up in such countries often dump
  toxic waste into rivers and streams and release
  deadly fumes into the air. Such polluting
  practices would be illegal in developed
  countries.

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• 2. Many poor countries lack worker protection
  laws.
• a. Without such laws, factories can require
  workers to work long hours for low wages.
• i. Ex A sneaker factory worker in a developing
  country in Asia might earn 2 for a 12-hour
  workday.

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• 3. A factory might hire children, who are paid
  even less.
• a. Factories that abuse workers are called
  sweatshops. Working conditions in sweatshops are
  often unsafe or unhealthy.

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• ii. Developed Countries
• 1. When companies send work offshore, they often
  close factories at home.
• a. Many Americans have lost their jobs because of
  factory closings.
• b. Towns and cities may also suffer when
  unemployed residents move to other places to find
  work.

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• iii. Globalization can upset traditional ways of
  life
• 1. When foreign fast-food chains move into a
  country, they may crowd out traditional food
  sellers.
• 2. Traditional arts may be lost when a country is
  flooded with foreign movies, television shows,
  and music.
• 3. Many people may welcome the arrival of global
  culture, but they may also lose traditions that
  have made their way of life unique or special.

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McDonalds in Thailand
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• c. The Future of Globalization
• i. People often disagree about the impact of
  globalization however, globalization is here to
  stay, and it is likely to increase.
• 1. After observing South Koreas and Singapores
  ability to prosper from global trade, many
  developing countries see it as a path out of
  poverty.
• 2. Money now moves freely around the world.
  Money coming into a country from investors in
  another country is called foreign investment.
  Billions of dollars of foreign investment move
  around the world every year. This money is used
  to build new factories or to invest in
  businesses.

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IX. Global Connections
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• a. How has foreign investment changed since 1914?
• i. Foreign investment has gone up since 1914,
  mostly since 1960 during a period of rapid growth
  throughout the global economy.
• ii. In 1914, most of the foreign investment went
  to countries in Latin America and Asia.
• iii. By 1998, the percentages going to these
  regions decreased.

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• b. Which developing country attracted the most
  investment money in 2002? How has this
  investment affected life there?
• i. China received more foreign investment than
  any other country in 2002.
• ii. Most of this money was used to start new
  businesses in urban areas, attracting workers
  from rural areas.
• iii. As a result, China is growing more urban
  year by year.

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• c. Which parts of the world attracted the least
  investment money? How might this affect the
  people living there?
• i. Most countries in Africa, Southwest Asia, and
  Central Asia attracted little investment.
• ii. There economies have grown slowly or not at
  all.
• iii. Most of their people still depend on
  agriculture to make a living.
• iv. Other job opportunities are frequently
  limited.

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Population Density Around the World