#flexibleaccumulation

Flexible Accumulation

THE PATH OF THE PINK BACKPACK

History of Target and Wild Fable

The pink corduroy backpack is a target and wild fable creation.

Target, originally Goodfellow Dry Goods, was founded in 1902 by George Dayton. In May 1962, the new discount store had its grand opening with the transformed name of Target.

Wild Fable is a fairly new clothing line by Target. Created by 23 year-old designer, Cassidy Glynn, the line made its debut August 3rd, 2018.

Backpack’s Manufacturing Location

This was fabricated in Cambodia - A Southeast-Asian country neighboring Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the Gulf of Thailand. As of June 8th, 2018, Target reports to have 24 different factories located in Cambodia alone. Target is also one of the top brands sourcing from Cambodia.

Item’s Impact on My Life

The backpack was imported from Cambodia and eventually found itself located in a local Target store close to my home. Easily accessible, I was able to find and purchase the item within a few minutes. The backpack is essential to me fir carrying supplies for my studies and small items that I may need, such as: lip balm, phone, earbuds, and a wallet.

I use this item almost everyday and it makes a huge difference in my life. Carrying my items to class would be incredibly difficult without this backpack. Not only does it serve a purpose during my studies, but I also use it for a quick night over a friend’s house or taking a day trip. In addition, it is cute and stylish which makes me feel good when I am wearing it.

Item’s Impact on the Lives of Those Directly Manufacturing

In 2016, 31 percent of Cambodia’s economy derived from manufacturing. One of the most essential sectors to Cambodia’s economic growth is that of garments which supplies about 635,000 jobs. Making up the majority of merchandise exports, the garment sector reeled in the equivalent of 8.02 billion U.S dollars in 2017. For the Royal Government of Cambodia, that is the exact growth it is looking for as per its goals of reaching middle-income economy by 2030 and high-income economy by 2050.

Employees in these factories are heavily overworked and are threatened into doing so. Fixed-term contracts are temporary and have the option of not being renewed, which is the main method used to scare workers. Excessive-overtime is non existent in only 5% of factories. The most impacted are females as they make up 90 percent of the workforce in this industry.

But what location exactly are they being most affected? According to Clean Clothes Campaign, “The garment industry is concentrated in and around the capital city, Phnom Penh” - 13 of the 24 target factories are fixed in Phnom Penh. However, the factories in Cambodia are largely controlled by foreign investors including China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. It is evident that Target is not ignoring the conditions taking place. Target has made reports of uncovered issues found in factories across the world, with 25% of audited Chinese factories maintaining excessive work hours.

Overall, the manufacturing of this item had a positive impact on those directing the system of industries, but ultimately negatively affects those directly making it. Female (and male) workers are being overworked and are not receiving enough nutrition to withstand conditions which often results in fainting. In Cambodia, they usually travel from rural areas in order to make an income and provide for their families. With low wages and poor conditions, this proves to be a major strain on the lives of Cambodian factory workers.

With the increasingly evolving ways in which society intakes information, corporations and producers have to evolve along with it. Studies show that consumers are gravitating towards streaming devices as opposed to traditional cable faster than anticipated. Along with that includes YouTube - a platform that displays the process of flexible accumulation.

 McDonald’s, one of Americas #1 fast food restaurants is a perfect example of flexible accumulation. McDonald’s is known worldwide for its booming industry. In spring of 2018 CEO Steve Easterbrook came up with the plan to relocate McDonald’s headquarters all the way to Chicago. In this strategy McDonalds shares will gain 1.27%, which was exactly the motive.

Fordism is a good example of flexible accumulation. Not only did it deal with economic reconstruction and social readjustment, but it dealt with outsourcing. The company was using other countries to distriput oil to the West. There was a lot of competition that occured because of the internationalization of the Ford production techniques. There was a shift where they paid the rise of new technologies and differet ways of organize their production. By doing this, they were able to accumulate a big profit.