"will not be replaced by artisans doing small batch t-shirts from yard-grown cotton using hand made tools."
That isn't what I'm talking about. There is a lot between that and transporting everything multiple times across the globe just for the sake of making it as large scale as possible. What is the gain after you can reliably feed a few looms?
There are no better tools by the way. It's people sitting behind sewing machines, just on the other side of the planet.
Sorry I’m having a crap day; you’re totally right there’s a ton of gradients between “one mega factory makes all t-shirts” and “we all make clothes ourselves with hand made cotton thread.”
I think my argument was mostly like - don’t throw out the baby with the bath water; economies of scale are a real thing that brings us real benefits, and that should go in the scale too.
That isn't what I'm talking about. There is a lot between that and transporting everything multiple times across the globe just for the sake of making it as large scale as possible. What is the gain after you can reliably feed a few looms?
There are no better tools by the way. It's people sitting behind sewing machines, just on the other side of the planet.