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Article

16 Dec 2006

Author:
Evan Osnos, Chicago Tribune

Your cheap sweater's real cost

... [China's] enormous herds of cashmere-producing goats have slashed the price of sweaters. But they also have helped graze Chinese grasslands down to a moonscape, unleashing some of the worst dust storms on record. This in turn fuels a plume of pollution heavy enough to reach the skies over North America...A storm in 2002 forced 1.8 million South Koreans to seek medical help and cost the country $7.8 billion in damage to industries...Of most concern are ultratiny particles that lodge deep in the lungs, contributing to respiratory damage, heart disease and cancer...Chinese herders are moving off the grasslands to try farming and other trades...The American cashmere industry says it cannot solve the crisis in the grasslands...[refers to Alphatex Knitting, Bloomingdale's, Costco, Dawson International, Edenweiss International, Erdos Cashmere, Loro Piana, Pringle, Saks Fifth Avenue, Target, Wal-Mart]