In 2007, a pair of Christmas boxers led 30-year-old Kelsey Timmerman to Bangladesh. Tuesday night, a book will lead him to the David Letterman Communication and Media Building.
Timmerman is the author of "Where Am I Wearing?" — a book that takes a closer look at the lives of the people who make our clothes.
"I think a lot of students don't have a good handle on what life is like for these people," Timmerman said. And neither did Timmerman until, intrigued by the tag on his favorite pair of boxers, he set out to find the factory — and if possible, the individual — who made them.
A second mortgage later, Timmerman traveled to Cambodia — "To see where my favorite all-American Levi jeans were made," he said — and to China to meet the person responsible for making his flip-flops.
"What really struck me is how similar we are. A single mother in Bangladesh making $24 a day — it doesn't seem like we have a lot in common. But when it comes down to what really matters, we are exactly the same."
A key part of Timmerman's message is that while many of these people face difficult situations, not every factory is a sweatshop and not every family is destitute and depressed.
"These people aren't hanging their head and feeling sorry for themselves," he said. "The people I met were so hospitable. They let me look into their lives, they fed me and they answered all my stupid questions. In some sense, I feel indebted to them to share their stories."
Jill Christman, director of creative writing, invited Timmerman to read and host a discussion after he dropped off a copy of his book in the English department.
Timmerman moved to Muncie in 2007, a month before his global tour of garment factories. Christman said that was one of the reasons the department asked him to be a part of their Visiting Writer Series.
"First of all, he's local and we wanted to support local writers," she said. "The other thing was that the kinds of things he's doing is what I would call personal journalism ... it's a kind of writing that we're very interested in."
Timmerman, who has been speaking at universities across the nation, said he also enjoys Ball State's close proximity.
"Ball State's great because I can ride my bike there," he said.
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