Narrative: L.e.i. Blue tank top dress
Junior small
Made in Cambodia
100% cotton, elastic trim

l.e.i. (an acronym that stands for Life Energy Intelligence; the logo is usually uncapitalized, but the newer logo is stylized as L.e.i.) is an American clothing company, mainly targeted at teenage girls and young women. Launched in 1989, l.e.i. is owned by Jones Apparel Group and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.The brand is sold in many retail stores, however they do not have stores of their own. l.e.i. products are available at Wal-Mart, as well as many online stores. The Jones Group headquarters are in New York City. The company also markets directly to consumers through their chain of specialty retail and value-based stores. In addition, it markets costume jewelry under the Givenchy brand licensed from Givenchy Corporation and footwear under the Dockers Women brand licensed from Levi Strauss & Co. I purchased this dress for $8 at Walmart in 2010 in Skowhegan Maine. It was one of the only stores in Skowhegan, and I carpooled to the store in a shuttle bus.

The cotton process demands cultivators rip out weeds and grass that may compete with the cotton. Land is plowed under and soil is broken up and formed into rows. Cottonseed is planted. The boll matures in a period that ranges from 55 to 80 days. Ten weeks after flowers first appeared, fibers split the boll apart, and cotton pushes forth. The process includes seeding, picking, ginning, and baling. Samples are taken from the bales to determine the quality of the cotton. At this point the cotton plant is defoliated if it is to be machine harvested. Defoliation is often accomplished by spraying the plant with a chemical. At a mill the bale is broken, the fibers are opened by a comb-like device, mixed together, and cleaned. The cleaned cotton fibers are called laps. The laps are fed into a carding machine that separates the fibers. Further cleaning, combing, and sorting readies the fibers for processing into thread.

Power generation and supply; Cotton farming; Truck transportation; Oil and gas extraction; Other basic organic chemical manufacturing; Artificial and synthetic fibers and filaments manufacturing; Hosiery and sock mills; Petroleum refineries; Iron and steel mills; Plastics material and resin manufacturing. Water withdraw includes: Cotton farming; Grain farming; Artificial and synthetic fibers and filaments manufacturing; Hosiery and sock mills; Power generation and supply; Fiber, yarn, and thread mills; Other basic organic chemical manufacturing; Paperboard mills; Paint and coating manufacturing; Synthetic dye and pigment manufacturing.