Remember the song from Sweet Honey in the Rock about the shirt made in the U.S. (that is actually made in a range of developing countries except for the last bit where the label is put on)?
Well Madagascar is one of those countries. The complex where the office is located (on one of the flat bits near the paddy fields) is surrounded by these huge sheds (there is no other word for them). Every morning streams and streams of people walk into the complex (and now that I have my bearings, I see them cross across the paddy fields as well - taking a short cut not available to those of us in cars): hundreds of workers - mostly women all coming to work at 0700.
Then I was told that these sheds make Nike shoes and manufacture clothing. There are about ten of them in this complex and they make a range of stuff - 95% for export. I am told that they are allowed to sell the other 5% in-country. I would love to know what the labels on these items say - because I have never seen anything that says "Made in Madagascar".
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