On the Commodity Trail: The Journey of a Bargain Store Product from East to<br /> West

"From raw materials on municipal rubbish dumps in the Far East, to newly re-made products and a journey across the seas, to bargain stores in Europe and North America and eventually to the homes of consumers, this is the complex story behind society's simplest and cheapest commodities. Weaving together compelling narratives from individuals at different parts of the commodity chain, including waste peddlers, wholesalers, stores owners and shoppers, this book considers the places and people at the heart of these localized, yet immense global networks. Following eight key objects, On the Commodity Trail combines ethnographies of material culture with a broader consideration of commodity culture at a time of global recession. This study explores the prevalence of the bargain store in our towns and cities and delves into the colourful and illuminating histories behind the objects on the shelf"-- Provided by publisher Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Glossary Acknowledgements Preface Introduction: Eight Bargain Store Commodities and their Journeys Chapter 1 The Dump – Shanghai and Tianjin as Graveyards and Birthplaces of Commodities i) The Waste Pedlars of Shanghai ii) The ‘Failed’ Spaces of the City – The Key to Success iii) The Market for Waste: From Pedlar to Factory Chapter 2 The ‘Commodity City’: Yiwu, the World’s Factory of Bargains i) The ‘China Price’ Deal: A Day in the Life of an International Wholesale Buyer ii) Yiwu – World-famous ‘Commodity City’: History and Non-place in the Paradise of Things iii) Reciprocity, Risk and the Denial of Copyright Culture in Yiwu iv) Yiwu versus alibaba.com: The Power of the Anti-inventory Chapter 3 The Container Port: The Overflowing Spaces of Felixstowe and Los Angeles i) Defetishizing ‘whizzy capitalism’– The Slow Foundations of Hyper-speed ii) Strike! The Dockside Politics of Abundance Chapter 4 The Bargain Store: Buying and Selling in the West’s Spaces of ‘Cheap’ i) Shopping for Kicks: The Immediacy of Bargain Store Shopping ii) The Freedom to Buy: A New Kind of Democratic Right? iii) The Buddha, the Bonsai and the Chinoiserie Vase: Taste and Kitsch in a World of Bargains iv) Births, Deaths and Marriages: Bargains from Cradle to Grave Conclusion ... and Back to the Dump? Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Conclusion References Web sources Visual sources Index Following the journey of eight bargain store objects, Alison Hulme reveals the complex story behind society's simplest and cheapest commodities. Inspired by Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project, On the Commodity Trail explores the colourful and fascinating histories of everyday objects. Along the way, we observe raw materials on municipal rubbish dumps in China, newly re-made products in the world's largest wholesale market, and take a journey across the seas, to bargain stores in Europe and North America, arriving finally in the homes of consumers. Weaving together narratives from the people we meet at different parts of the commodity chain – waste peddlers, wholesalers, store owners, and shoppers – the book examines the places and people at the heart of these localized yet immense global networks. Unlike other investigations of commodity chains, this study does not chart a straightforward trajectory from production to consumption. Instead, it demonstrates that the low-end commodity chain is one of constant rupture in which products are made and re-made, blurring the dividing line between producing and consuming. An ethnography of material culture as well as an examination of commodity culture at a time of economic downturn, this deeply-engrossing book makes a unique contribution to our understanding of commodity chains and consumer culture. "Following the journey of eight bargain store objects, Alison Hulme reveals the complex story behind society's simplest and cheapest commodities. Inspired by Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project, On the Commodity Trail explores the colourful and fascinating histories of everyday objects. Along the way, we observe raw materials on municipal rubbish dumps in China, newly re-made products in the world's largest wholesale market, and take a journey across the seas, to bargain stores in Europe and North America, arriving finally in the homes of consumers. Weaving together narratives from the people we meet at different parts of the commodity chain -- waste peddlers, wholesalers, store owners, and shoppers -- the book examines the places and people at the heart of these localized yet immense global networks. Unlike other investigations of commodity chains, this study does not chart a straightforward trajectory from production to consumption. Instead, it demonstrates that the low-end commodity chain is one of constant rupture in which products are made and re-made, blurring the dividing line between producing and consuming."--Publisher's description "From raw materials on municipal rubbish dumps in the Far East, to newly re-made products and a journey across the seas, to bargain stores in Europe and North America and eventually to the homes of consumers, this is the complex story behind society's simplest and cheapest commodities. Weaving together compelling narratives from individuals at different parts of the commodity chain, including waste peddlers, wholesalers, stores owners and shoppers, this book considers the places and people at the heart of these localized, yet immense global networks. Following eight key objects, On the Commodity Trail combines ethnographies of material culture with a broader consideration of commodity culture at a time of global recession. This study explores the prevalence of the bargain store in our towns and cities and delves into the colourful and illuminating histories behind the objects on the shelf"-- Résumé de l'éditeur