The Garment Industry.

The Garment Industry.

Introduction

Clothing is a collective word which is used to refer to items worn on the body. Clothes can be made from animal skin, textile materials. Clothes are most often than not limited to mankind only. The type of cloth a person wears depends on character the body type and shape and the geographical conditions. Clothing acts as an element of protection from external hazards or harmful thing. Clothing is also a social norm it is considered very indecent is one decides to walk without them.

It is not easy to determine when the first clothes were made. A new study suggests that humans started to wear clothes after the second last Ice Age, which would make it 170,000 years ago. This essay aims determine the origin my clothes, which is from Asia, the historical and contemporary patterns of trade in primary and secondary products and their partial distribution tracing their locations origins and diffusion of the industrial revolution.

All my garments are made in Asia. The headquarters of the companies are located in China and Bangladesh. Both countries have poor working conditions; this is characterized by poor ventilation and inadequate personal safety equipment. In both countries, the working hours are stipulated at a maximum of forty-eight hours in a week (Domosh, 2013). The ignorance of labor laws is common for both countries.

Although China and Bangladesh have very similar characteristics they also have many differences when it comes to garment production. Firstly, the safety of workers, although China is not up to western standards in terms of their workplace safety Bangladesh is far much worse. This is mostly due to lack of space as Bangladesh is so much smaller than China (Domosh, 2013). The bodies in charge of management and enforcing building rules regulations and ethics leave gaps allowing tragic events to happen like Rana Plaza collapse.

Secondly, the rights of the workers, in China the rights of the workers have clearly outlined labor laws. These labor laws include minimum wages overtime pay anti-discrimination clauses and maximum hour limits while in Bangladesh these rights are far from being achieved. Though the collapse of Rana Plaza saw the drafting of new rules and regulation to prevent another tragedy Bangladesh is still lacking in terms of the workers’ rights (Domosh, 2013). The extent to which these new laws will improve the lives of the workers will depend mostly on the implementation of the law.

Thirdly, the working hours and the pay create a difference between the garment industry in China and Bangladesh. When it comes to the monthly wages China pays its workers a minimum of $100-$200 US dollars this, of course, is not a large sum of money not unless you decide to compare this with $38 US dollars per month which Bangladesh workers receive (Howard, 2012). China has a booming economy this allows the government to increase the wages of the workers with the increasing cost of living a luxury Bangladesh cannot afford. Fourthly, China has invested in a well-developed infrastructure and still planning on more infrastructure investment.On the other hand, Bangladesh is served by primary and secondary roads (Howard, 2012). Bangladesh cannot compete with China when it comes to infrastructure.

All my garments are made in Asia due to the following locational factors. Both of these countries have cheap labor in comparison to countries like America. China has a vast supplier base hence providing room for options (Howard, 2012). This also implies that I will get exactly what I want from the manufacturer. Sourcing apparel from Asia is cost effective and economical. This is because the cost of raw material designs manufacturing packaging and shipping is very affordable. Asia provides quality bulk orders in a small span of time. The speed of production and also shipping is fast (Howard, 2012). The ability to comply with customer needs is also a factor that makes me outsource garments from China and Bangladesh.

Textile manufacture was one of the key drivers of the Industrial Revolution. In the 18^th Century, John Kay invented the Flying Shuttle which enabled people to wove cloths faster and also clothes with greater width (Domosh, 2013). Richard Arkwright invented the water frame which was used for cotton spinning, James Hargreaves invented the spinning Jenny and Samuel Crompton’s invented the Spinning Mule which was a combination of the previous two inventions. This was a milestone for the garment industry up until today.

Deindustrialization is the reduction of a country’s economy due to the exhaustion of raw materials market or due to the competition. The clothing industry is of global nature as almost every person on the planet owns at least a piece of garment (Domosh, 2013).it is a global enterprise which is valued to be a multibillion-dollar industry. There are four levels; the primary level which includes mills and the yarn makers. The secondary level which includes the manufacturers, wholesalers, vendors, and designers.

Conclusion

The garment industry is a constantly growing industry. For this reason, we need to evaluate where the garments come from. Workers who work in those industries should be treated well. New labor laws should be drafted and implemented. Workers in Bangladesh are overworked and underpaid. As a consumer buying, outsourcing and promoting companies such as Sweatshops will be detrimental for the workers and promoting inhumane activities

Reference

Domosh, M. (2013). The Human Mosaic: a Cultural Approach to Human Geography, 12th Ed.

Howard, M. (2012). Textile traditions in contemporary Southeast Asia. Bangkok: White   Lotus Pres