Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade

'In the business of making and selling clothes, \'Made in\' labels do precious little to convey the constellation of treaties, countries, and people at work in the assembly of a simple pair of jeans. In Fugitive Denimjournalist Rachel Louise Snyder reports from the far reaches of this multi-billion-dollar industry in search of the real people who make your clothes. From a cotton picker in Azerbaijan to a Cambodian seamstress, a denim maker in Italy to a fashion designer in New York, Snyder captures the human, environmental, and political forces at work in a dizzyingly complex and often absurd world. In a disarming and humorous voice, she ponders questions of equity, sweatshops, and corporate social responsibility through narratives of individual people, making an often academic subject accessible and compelling. Neither polemic nor prescription, Fugitive Denimcaptures what it means to be at work in the world in the twenty-first century.'

"A fascinating chronicle of the $55-billion-a-year global denim industry." --David Futrelle, Los Angeles Times

'A fascinating chronicle of the $55-billion-a-year global denim industry.' '"David Futrelle, Los Angeles TimesRachel Louise Snyder reports from the far reaches of the multi-billion-dollar denim industry in search of the people who make your clothes. From a cotton picker in Azerbaijan to a Cambodian seamstress, a denim maker in Italy to a fashion designer in New York, Snyder captures the human, environmental, and political forces at work in a complex and often absurd world. Neither polemic nor prescription, Fugitive Denimcaptures what it means to work in the twenty-first century.

Rachel Louise Snyder reports from the far reaches of the multi-billion-dollar denim industry in search of the people who make your clothes. From a cotton picker in Azerbaijan to a Cambodian seamstress, a denim maker in Italy to a fashion designer in New York, Snyder captures the human, environmental, and political forces at work in a complex and often absurd world. Neither polemic nor prescription, Fugitive Denim captures what it means to work in the twenty-first century.

Rachel Louise Snyder's work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Slate, and the New Republic, and on public radio's "This American Life" and "Marketplace." She lives in Cambodia and in Chicago, Illinois.