Study traces the long life of a T-shirt

SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. – Ever wonder where the T-shirts sold in your local neighborhood come from? Or where they go?

Pietra Rivoli, an economist at Georgetown University, was in Florida in 1999 when she bought a T-shirt with a parrot on it. Investigating, she learned that the cotton for the T-shirt came from near Lubbock, Texas, where a couple – although in their mid-80s – still farm 1,000 acres of cotton. Crucial to their efforts is a federal farm subsidy that assures them 73 cents a pound, while the international market for cotton is 50 cents a pound.

Following the cotton to Florida, Rivoli found it was then shipped to China, where it is assembled into the T-shirts. From China, the T-shirts are shipped to Florida, where they are screen-printed and shipped off to various tourist markets.

But wait, T-shirts with parrots and ski resort names have a life after being sold. Often, after a time, purchasers donate the shirts to Goodwill or other such organizations. In turn, these recycled T-shirts are often shipped to Africa, where there is a huge market for discarded clothing from developed countries. Others are shredded and turned into pillow stuffing, car seats and even caskets.

At a Squaw Valley Institute talk on business globalization, Rivoli said she began her project without any convictions of whether globalization was good or bad, but her conclusion – contained in a book calledThe Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy – is that globalization is more good than bad.

What Rivoli dislikes are subsidies – such as that paid to cotton farmers in the U.S. – that interfere with the working of the free international market. One consequence is that farmers in Africa cannot afford to grow cotton themselves, because it costs them more than farmers in Texas, explained theTahoe World, which reported her comments.

Flyfishing mixes with real estate

GRANBY – Flyfishing has become big business in the last 20 years. Now, a land developer in Granby is branding a project with a well-known flyfishing company, Orvis, to create a high-end project mixing golf, fishing and horseback riding.

The project is called Orvis Shorefox, and if that name sounds a bit like Starbucks, it’s probably not coincidental. It was minted with the possibility of franchising at other locations.

Orvis is a partner in the project, but the on-the-land developer is a consortium headed by Jerry Jones, a former ski industry executive at Vail, Keystone and Snowmass. As now configured, the Orvis Shorefox project at Granby will get 600 dwelling units, a golf course, and two hotels (one of them 80 feet tall). As well, the property will have an equestrian center, a fishing lodge and a large (25,000 square feet) store that sells Orvis flyfishing gear.

All of this is to occur in the crook of land west of Granby formed by the Colorado and Fraser rivers. The location is equidistant between the Winter Park ski area and the western portal to Rocky Mountain National Park. Final annexation into Granby is expected in late June.

This Orvis Shorefox targets a higher income bracket somewhat comparable to that hit by the high-end resorts along the I-70 corridor. A nearby project called Grand Elk, which includes Jones and several other partners, has a lower price. It has a potential 800 units.

Grand Elk reports 90 percent of homesites have been sold. Of the buyers, 85 percent come from the Front Range and intend vacation homes. Homes top out at $800,000. Lower priced are the prefabricated log cabins that run from $249,000 to $387,000.

Old timer grumbles over context

CRESTED BUTTE – Crested Butte is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year as a town. Located at an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet, it was founded in 1880 for its coal deposits as well as ample trees that are needed in mining.

In its early years, Crested Butte relied largely on immigrant laborers, many from Croatia and Transylvania. Although large-scale mining ended decades ago, that Slavic flavor lingers in a multitude of ways, including a phone book still thick with surnames ending in “ech” and “ushion” and “ak.”

While some of the old-timers embrace the new recreation-based economy and lifestyle, others tend to grumble. One such grumbler, Fritz Yaklich, recently took issue with the use of certain words and phrases. There was, he insisted, nothing “pristine” about the environment around Crested Butte. Furthermore, he said, he was quite tired of hearing people who had lived in Crested Butte for 20 years described as “long-term residents.”

Ah, yes, context is everything. In Vail, the original developers were being called “pioneers” 20 years after the ski area’s founding.

In some old ranch towns of the Rocky Mountains, “newcomer” is sometimes stretched to include those whose family has only been around a generation or two. But, as one ski town manager is fond of noting, in all cases you can vote after 30 days.

Front Range season pass sales up

SUMMIT COUNTY – Sales of season passes for next winter at Colorado’s Front Range resorts are reportedly brisk.

Vail Resorts, which has four ski resorts within easy driving distance of Denver, reports sales have increased 35 percent as compared to last winter. Intrawest did not divulge numbers, but reported increased sales of season passes for its two resorts, says theSummit Daily News. Passes for next year are running $309 to $349.

Golf course boasts dense wildlife

CANMORE, Alberta – The golfing expression of “play through” takes on a whole new meaning at the SilverTip golf course near Canmore.

When the golf course was built in the early 1990s, bears and other wildlife were known to frequent the area. Indeed, the golf course is part of a giant wildlife migration corridor. As such it was the original intent that wildlife would be permitted to pass through. No grizzly bears were in the area then, but they are now.

The Rocky Mountain Outlook notes that SilverTip often closes parts of its golf course during summer in order to ensure the safety of golfers. However, if the course were closed when bears were spotted only on the periphery, it would be closed 25 percent of the time. Golfers, said a resort spokesman, are unruffled by the prospect of bears.

Tahoe home among most expensive

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Sometimes it takes a village to make a home. That would seem to be the story of a $60 million estate in Incline Village that has been reported as the fourth most expensive property on the market in the United States.

The property actually has three houses, including 13,000 feet of garage space – suitable for a serious car collector. But what really seems to add panache to the property are the two piers and the 340 feet of frontage on Lake Tahoe, notes theTahoe World.

Vail’s landfill scores Aspen’s garbage

EAGLE COUNTY – Eagle County is getting dumped on by its resort neighbors, reports theVail Daily. Landfill operators report about 10 percent of the trash comes from the adjoining Summit County, Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs areas.

The landfill’s central location was cited as among the reasons, but Vail may be getting Aspen’s trash partly because of price. Aspen’s landfill is more pricey than Vail’s and also about out of room. The reason for the higher Aspen prices is to encourage more recycling. No space problem exists yet at the Eagle County landfill that services Vail.

Photo show features ordinary faces

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. – Photographers have always flocked to Jackson Hole. But a new photo exhibit now making the rounds in Jackson Hole strays far from the usual meanders of the Snake River. Documentary-style black-and-white portraits of employees who own “affordable housing” were made. The point, explained Ed Riddel, who is on the marketing committee for the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust, is to “communicate the really diverse cross-section of professions represented by the Housing Trust. You see teachers, physical therapists, flyfishing guides.”

The photos will be exhibited at a gallery, library and brewery as the year progresses, notes theJackson Hole News & Guide.

Riding arenas appear in two valleys

JACKSON, Wyo. – Big indoor riding arenas are being considered in two of the West’s more wealthy resort valleys.

In Jackson, the Town Council has endorsed a 50,000-square-foot arena that would be used by 4-H and various horse-riding groups. Although it’s not yet clear who will pay the $2.1 million cost, construction is ambitiously eyed in September.

The Vail Daily reports that something similar has been talked about in Eagle County. There, horse enthusiasts are pushing for a 25,000-square-foot pavilion that would cost $2 million. However, County commissioners are divided as to whether this pavilion would be used by more than a relatively few horse riders.

– compiled by Allen Best

Study traces the long life of a T-shirt

SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. – Ever wonder where the T-shirts sold in your local neighborhood come from? Or where they go?

Pietra Rivoli, an economist at Georgetown University, was in Florida in 1999 when she bought a T-shirt with a parrot on it. Investigating, she learned that the cotton for the T-shirt came from near Lubbock, Texas, where a couple – although in their mid-80s – still farm 1,000 acres of cotton. Crucial to their efforts is a federal farm subsidy that assures them 73 cents a pound, while the international market for cotton is 50 cents a pound.

Following the cotton to Florida, Rivoli found it was then shipped to China, where it is assembled into the T-shirts. From China, the T-shirts are shipped to Florida, where they are screen-printed and shipped off to various tourist markets.

But wait, T-shirts with parrots and ski resort names have a life after being sold. Often, after a time, purchasers donate the shirts to Goodwill or other such organizations. In turn, these recycled T-shirts are often shipped to Africa, where there is a huge market for discarded clothing from developed countries. Others are shredded and turned into pillow stuffing, car seats and even caskets.

At a Squaw Valley Institute talk on business globalization, Rivoli said she began her project without any convictions of whether globalization was good or bad, but her conclusion – contained in a book calledThe Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy – is that globalization is more good than bad.

What Rivoli dislikes are subsidies – such as that paid to cotton farmers in the U.S. – that interfere with the working of the free international market. One consequence is that farmers in Africa cannot afford to grow cotton themselves, because it costs them more than farmers in Texas, explained theTahoe World, which reported her comments.

Flyfishing mixes with real estate

GRANBY – Flyfishing has become big business in the last 20 years. Now, a land developer in Granby is branding a project with a well-known flyfishing company, Orvis, to create a high-end project mixing golf, fishing and horseback riding.

The project is called Orvis Shorefox, and if that name sounds a bit like Starbucks, it’s probably not coincidental. It was minted with the possibility of franchising at other locations.

Orvis is a partner in the project, but the on-the-land developer is a consortium headed by Jerry Jones, a former ski industry executive at Vail, Keystone and Snowmass. As now configured, the Orvis Shorefox project at Granby will get 600 dwelling units, a golf course, and two hotels (one of them 80 feet tall). As well, the property will have an equestrian center, a fishing lodge and a large (25,000 square feet) store that sells Orvis flyfishing gear.

All of this is to occur in the crook of land west of Granby formed by the Colorado and Fraser rivers. The location is equidistant between the Winter Park ski area and the western portal to Rocky Mountain National Park. Final annexation into Granby is expected in late June.

This Orvis Shorefox targets a higher income bracket somewhat comparable to that hit by the high-end resorts along the I-70 corridor. A nearby project called Grand Elk, which includes Jones and several other partners, has a lower price. It has a potential 800 units.

Grand Elk reports 90 percent of homesites have been sold. Of the buyers, 85 percent come from the Front Range and intend vacation homes. Homes top out at $800,000. Lower priced are the prefabricated log cabins that run from $249,000 to $387,000.

Old timer grumbles over context

CRESTED BUTTE – Crested Butte is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year as a town. Located at an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet, it was founded in 1880 for its coal deposits as well as ample trees that are needed in mining.

In its early years, Crested Butte relied largely on immigrant laborers, many from Croatia and Transylvania. Although large-scale mining ended decades ago, that Slavic flavor lingers in a multitude of ways, including a phone book still thick with surnames ending in “ech” and “ushion” and “ak.”

While some of the old-timers embrace the new recreation-based economy and lifestyle, others tend to grumble. One such grumbler, Fritz Yaklich, recently took issue with the use of certain words and phrases. There was, he insisted, nothing “pristine” about the environment around Crested Butte. Furthermore, he said, he was quite tired of hearing people who had lived in Crested Butte for 20 years described as “long-term residents.”

Ah, yes, context is everything. In Vail, the original developers were being called “pioneers” 20 years after the ski area’s founding. In some old ranch towns of the Rocky Mountains, “newcomer” is sometimes stretched to include those whose family has only been around a generation or two. But, as one ski town manager is fond of noting, in all cases you can vote after 30 days.

Front Range season pass sales up

SUMMIT COUNTY – Sales of season passes for next winter at Colorado’s Front Range resorts are reportedly brisk.

Vail Resorts, which has four ski resorts within easy driving distance of Denver, reports sales have increased 35 percent as compared to last winter. Intrawest did not divulge numbers, but reported increased sales of season passes for its two resorts, says theSummit Daily News. Passes for next year are running $309 to $349.

Golf course boasts dense wildlife

CANMORE, Alberta – The golfing expression of “play through” takes on a whole new meaning at the SilverTip golf course near Canmore.

When the golf course was built in the early 1990s, bears and other wildlife were known to frequent the area. Indeed, the golf course is part of a giant wildlife migration corridor. As such it was the original intent that wildlife would be permitted to pass through. No grizzly bears were in the area then, but they are now.

The Rocky Mountain Outlook notes that SilverTip often closes parts of its golf course during summer in order to ensure the safety of golfers. However, if the course were closed when bears were spotted only on the periphery, it would be closed 25 percent of the time. Golfers, said a resort spokesman, are unruffled by the prospect of bears.

Tahoe home among most expensive

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Sometimes it takes a village to make a home. That would seem to be the story of a $60 million estate in Incline Village that has been reported as the fourth most expensive property on the market in the United States.

The property actually has three houses, including 13,000 feet of garage space – suitable for a serious car collector. But what really seems to add panache to the property are the two piers and the 340 feet of frontage on Lake Tahoe, notes theTahoe World.

Vail’s landfill scores Aspen’s garbage

EAGLE COUNTY – Eagle County is getting dumped on by its resort neighbors, reports theVail Daily. Landfill operators report about 10 percent of the trash comes from the adjoining Summit County, Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs areas.

The landfill’s central location was cited as among the reasons, but Vail may be getting Aspen’s trash partly because of price. Aspen’s landfill is more pricey than Vail’s and also about out of room. The reason for the higher Aspen prices is to encourage more recycling. No space problem exists yet at the Eagle County landfill that services Vail.

Photo show features ordinary faces

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. – Photographers have always flocked to Jackson Hole. But a new photo exhibit now making the rounds in Jackson Hole strays far from the usual meanders of the Snake River. Documentary-style black-and-white portraits of employees who own “affordable housing” were made. The point, explained Ed Riddel, who is on the marketing committee for the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust, is to “communicate the really diverse cross-section of professions represented by the Housing Trust. You see teachers, physical therapists, flyfishing guides.”

The photos will be exhibited at a gallery, library and brewery as the year progresses, notes theJackson Hole News & Guide.

Riding arenas appear in two valleys

JACKSON, Wyo. – Big indoor riding arenas are being considered in two of the West’s more wealthy resort valleys.

In Jackson, the Town Council has endorsed a 50,000-square-foot arena that would be used by 4-H and various horse-riding groups. Although it’s not yet clear who will pay the $2.1 million cost, construction is ambitiously eyed in September.

The Vail Daily reports that something similar has been talked about in Eagle County. There, horse enthusiasts are pushing for a 25,000-square-foot pavilion that would cost $2 million. However, County commissioners are divided as to whether this pavilion would be used by more than a relatively few horse riders.

– compiled by Allen Best