Personal Impact Research Assignment
This assignment should be between 2 and 4 pages in length (600-1200 words).
- Select an item in your house/apartment/room/etc that has been manufactured.
- Identify the process (and location) of the item's manufacture. Identify the component parts of the item and the place of each component's manufacture.
- The aim is to identify where your shirt/pencil/jewelry/playstation/computer/phone/etc was produced. How many details can you find? (e.g. Which factory produced the item?)
- Are any other products manufactured by these particular individuals or facilities? If so, what?
- What are the source materials used to produce this item? How are those materials mined/gathered?
- Try to find where the material used in your particular object came from (Which mine did the factory receive the minerals come from? Which farm or type of farm produced the raw materials used in the process? …Etcetera). Companies will often change distributors and suppliers (if you can identify the date of manufacture, this may help).
- Which distribution networks or processes are associated with the production and manufacture of your item?
- If possible, identify the wages, living conditions, and working conditions of those associated with each aspect of your item's production. What are the economic, environmental, and human impact(s) of the processes and producers associated with your chosen item?