T-Shirt thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

T-Shirt

2015 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This t-shirt together with a pink version for a female wearer (T.203-2016) was produced as part of a project started by National Public Radio's Planet Money (NPR) in December 2013 which engaged with growing concerns regarding ethical production and sustainability within the fashion industry, and the population as a whole .
The project followed specially produced cotton t-shirts around the world as they were manufactured — from the farms where the cotton was grown to the factories (one in Bangladesh, the other in Columbia) where the shirts were sewn together. NPR's Planet Money documented the entire process of creation: from raw material, to final product. They also produced a series of films and podcasts recording the story of the t-shirts and the people who made them.



Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cotton with printed design.
Brief description
Grey t-shirt created for a male wearer, made in Bangladesh
Physical description
Grey cotton t-shirt, size XL, short sleeved and with a round, crew shaped neckline. A line drawn image of a squirrel holding a martini glass has been printed across the chest.
Dimensions
  • Top of collar to base of hem length: 77.3cm (approximate)
  • Across chest, widest point width: 58cm (approximate)
  • Height: 770mm (Laid flat)
  • Width: 930mm (Laid flat)
Marks and inscriptions
'planetmoney.com/shirt' (Text printed across the upper rear of the t-shirt)
Credit line
Given by National Public Radio's Planet Money Project
Object history
This t-shirt, and a grey version, created for a male wearer (T.202-2016) document an important project started by Planet Money in December 2013. This project followed specially produced t-shirts around the world as they were manufactured — from the farms where the cotton was grown to the factories (one in Bangladesh, the other in Columbia) where the shirts were sewn together. The organisers of the project '[...] wanted to see the hidden world behind clothes sold in this country, so we decided to make a T-shirt. We wanted to make an ordinary shirt like the vast majority of the shirts sold in this country — not organic cotton, not hand-sewn in the United States.” (See references).

The project was crowd funded through Kickstarter and the money made from selling the shirts was used to help fund the films and podcasts documenting the project.
The two t-shirts were donated to the Museum by NPR's Planet Money in 2016 and were acquired for inclusion in the exhibition Fashioned From Nature (Working Title), scheduled to open in April 2018.
Summary
This t-shirt together with a pink version for a female wearer (T.203-2016) was produced as part of a project started by National Public Radio's Planet Money (NPR) in December 2013 which engaged with growing concerns regarding ethical production and sustainability within the fashion industry, and the population as a whole .
The project followed specially produced cotton t-shirts around the world as they were manufactured — from the farms where the cotton was grown to the factories (one in Bangladesh, the other in Columbia) where the shirts were sewn together. NPR's Planet Money documented the entire process of creation: from raw material, to final product. They also produced a series of films and podcasts recording the story of the t-shirts and the people who made them.

Bibliographic reference
This t-shirt, and a grey version, created for a male wearer (T.202-2016) document an important project started by Planet Money in December 2013: http://web.archive.org/web/20230119115229/https://www.npr.org/series/248799434/planet-moneys-t-shirt-project
Collection
Accession number
T.202-2016

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Record createdNovember 16, 2016
Record URL
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