Where does a shirt come from? Most of us never stop to think about the journey of a simple shirt - from the cotton fields to the factory, from the factory to the shop, and finally to our wardrobe. This chapter follows the story of a shirt to understand the market and the people who are involved in producing and selling it.
The story of the shirt reveals the unfairness of the market. The cotton farmers who grow the raw cotton earn very little, the workers who stitch the shirt are paid low wages, but the business people who trade and sell the shirt make large profits. The chapter follows the different people in the chain - the cotton farmer, the weaver, the garment factory worker, the exporter, and the business people - to show who actually benefits from the market.
The story of the shirt begins with the cotton farmer in the fields. Cotton farmers grow cotton, but they face many problems. The price of cotton is decided in the world market, and the farmers have no control over it. The farmers also need seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides, which cost money, and they often borrow money from traders at high interest rates.
If the price of cotton falls, the farmers suffer huge losses. Many farmers are forced to borrow money to buy inputs, and they are trapped in debt. The traders, who provide the loans, often force the farmers to sell their cotton to them at low prices. The cotton farmers thus earn very little from their hard work.
After the cotton is grown and picked, it is taken to the textile mills, where it is made into yarn. The yarn is then given to weavers, who weave it into cloth. Many weavers work in their homes, and they are paid by the piece. The weavers work long hours, but their wages are very low.
In the story of the shirt, the cloth is woven by handloom weavers in a small town. The weavers are dependent on the master weavers and the traders for work, and they have no bargaining power. They are paid low prices for their cloth, and they struggle to make a living.
The cloth is then sent to a garment factory, where it is cut and stitched into shirts. The workers in the garment factory, mostly women and migrants, work long hours for low wages. They work in unsafe conditions, without proper safety measures, and they have no job security.
The garment factory is owned by a business person who exports the shirts to other countries. The business person makes a large profit, but the workers who actually make the shirts earn very little. The factory is often located in a special economic zone (SEZ), where the company gets tax benefits, but the workers do not benefit from these.
The shirts are exported by an exporter to a business person in another country. The exporter buys the shirts at a low price and sells them at a much higher price. The business person in the foreign country, who owns the brand, sells the shirts to the shops, and the shops sell them to the consumers at the final price.
The price of the shirt increases at every step of this chain. The consumer in the foreign country pays a very high price for the shirt, but the farmer who grew the cotton and the worker who stitched the shirt receive only a tiny share. The business people at every step make large profits, while the producers and workers earn very little.
The chapter compares the prices at different steps of the chain to show the unfairness. The cotton farmer receives a very low price for the cotton. The weaver receives a low price for the cloth. The worker receives low wages for stitching. But the exporter and the business people make large profits, and the final price of the shirt is many times more than the cost of the cotton and the labour.
This gap between the producer's price and the consumer's price shows how the market is unequal. Those who do the actual work - the farmers and the workers - earn the least, while those who trade and sell - the middlemen and the business people - earn the most.
The workers in the garment industry work under very difficult conditions. They work long hours, sometimes more than twelve hours a day. They are paid low wages, and they have no job security. The factories are often unsafe, and there have been tragic accidents, like the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh in 2013, in which more than 1,000 workers died.
Workers in the garment industry do not have the freedom to organise unions in many places, and they cannot demand better wages and conditions. The garment industry is a major employer, especially of women, but the workers are exploited. Improving the conditions of workers and ensuring they get a fair share of the profits is essential for justice in the market.
The market benefits those who have capital, connections, and control. The business people who own the factories, the exporters, and the traders benefit the most. The farmers and the workers, who do the actual work, benefit the least.
For the market to be fair, the producers and the workers must get a fair price for their labour. This is why trade unions, government laws, and consumer awareness are important. When consumers understand the conditions under which goods are made, they can demand fair trade, and when workers are organised, they can demand fair wages.
| Step | Person | Price/Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cotton farmer | Very low price for cotton |
| 2 | Weaver | Low price for cloth |
| 3 | Garment worker | Low wages |
| 4 | Exporter | Makes profit |
| 5 | Business people | Large profits |
| 6 | Consumer | Pays the highest price |
| Group | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Farmers and workers | Very little |
| Traders and middlemen | Large share |
| Exporters and business people | Largest profits |
| Consumers | Pay the highest price |
The story of a simple shirt reveals the deep inequalities of the global market. From the cotton farmer who earns a pittance and drowns in debt, to the weaver and the garment worker who stitch in unsafe conditions for low wages, to the exporters and business people who reap the profits - the market clearly rewards those with capital and connections, not those who do the actual work. The consumer pays a high price for the shirt, but the money flows to the traders, not to the makers. A fair market would ensure that farmers get fair prices for their cotton and workers get fair wages for their labour. Understanding this is the first step towards demanding justice in the market.