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The global textile chain is China: low wages, high flexibility and Cotton cultivation
Before cotton textiles reach our wardro- productivity, as well as the capability to Cotton cultivation takes place in many
bes, they go on a long, eventful journey mass production, are China’s advantages developing countries. Industrial coun-
which takes them around the globe. and it is forecasted that China’s share of tries such as the USA, however, are also
They originate from the cultivated raw the global textile trade could grow involved. Their subsidies for growers
cotton and then they continue on rapidly from 20% to 50%. and/or export subsidies put pressure on
through the processing and finishing of the world market price and obstruct
the fibre, respectively the material, to The textile chain Southern countries. Apart from low
the clothing manufacturers and from Besides the challenges presented by the world market prices, the enormous use
there, via several retailer to the wearer- global textile trade, the textile produc- of pesticides in cultivation has drastic
’s wardrobe. Many players are involved tion chain from the raw product to the effects on the health of farmers and
in the individual phases of production. retail textile trade remains very complex field workers and the environment. Cot-
The following is a rough outline of the and widely ramified. It is almost impos- ton monoculture supplants food produc-
present situation of cotton textiles in sible to retrace a textile to its place of tion. The problem of rivalry for the use of
the textile industry. origin as supply structures in the textile the land, health and environmental
and clothing industry are kept secret. In damage, as well as financial dependen-
Trade without barriers principle it is possible to retrace each cy can be counteracted by the cultiva-
For many years the international textile production step. At each level of the tion of organic cotton. Organic cotton
trade was strictly regulated by a compli- production chain, power is divided achieves a higher market price, health
cated system of import restrictions. among the various players and specific and ecological damage can be prevented
Industrial nations tried to protect their problems can be pinpointed. Good solu- and financial losses reduced. A variety of
own textile industry from cheap imports. tions have been found to some pro- crop rotations replaces the usual mono-
In January 2005, within the framework blems; however these solutions have not culture of conventional cotton cultiva-
of negotiations on the liberalisation of been put into practice widely enough or tion and simultaneously ensures that
world trade, the regulation (the Multi- have not been imitated. Cotton plays a foodstuffs are also produced.
Fibre Agreement) ended after 21 years of central role in the clothing and textile
existence. trade as it is used in a large proportion After the cultivation and harvest, the
of production. cotton is then separated. Seed kernels
China clothes the world? and impurities are separated from the
During the existence of the textile fibre hairs. The fibre is then spun into
agreement, the global distribution of
textile production has developed in such
a way that for many poor countries in Data on the Textile and Clothing Industry
the South it has become an important
Number of producing countries About 160
export industry. For example, while Chi-
No. of official employed 23.6 Mio.
na was allowed a low quota, other coun-
tries such as Bangladesh profited from No. of informal employed 5-10 times the number of
those officially employed
the quota regulation. Now that quota
implementation has ended, it is feared Gender comparison 80-90% women of those employed
that developing countries will be forced Source: Ferenschild, Wick (2004)
out of the competition. Their main rival
7. Trading
3. Spinning
• Production of yarn
5. Finishing
• Dyeing
• Printing
• Accoutrement
Source: PAN Germany Cotton Connection
yarn in a spinning mill. Separation nor- Textile finishing workers face. In Germany alone, 7,000
mally takes place in the country of cul- Textile finishing includes among other textile processing products are produ-
tivation but the next steps, from the things, washing, bleaching, dying, prin- ced, and only a small proportion of the-
spinning onwards, can take place ting and processing of textile fibres and se have been tested to find out their
anywhere in the world. Whether the fabrics. This work is often carried out in effects on health or ecology.
yarn is first dyed or woven respectively Southern countries as there the wages
knitted, depends on the desired quality are lower and, above all, environmental The Clothing Trade
and the final product. The work invol- regulations hardly play a role. In this Clothes production, meaning the tailo-
ving textile finishing is, in almost every way, costs for this type of work are kept ring and production of clothing, usually
case, work associated with catastrophic to a minimum, to the detriment of the takes place in countries where the
working conditions mainly affecting workers’ health and the environment. It wages are very low. Clothing textiles are
workers’ health. is hardly possible to judge what dangers made most time in the so-called free