In Pietra Revoli's The Travels of a T-shirt in the global economy, the author particularly portrayed the international trade between US and China through the exporting journey of a T-shirt in the late 1970s. As the US holds the comparative appeal of introducing new technology to China, China used its big market and extremely cheap labor to attract foreign investment. Although US cotton industry's investment is boosting Chinese economy by providing more job opportunities and the influx of capitals, the true intention was to hire more and cheaper labor force in the process so that US's cotton industry can remain competitive in the world. Without strong regulations of the only 30-year-old new communist government, big clothing corporations could
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In 1979, not far after Mao Zedong passed away as China tried to wake from the nightmare of Cultural Revolution, the average minimum wage for Chinese workers was 90 percent lower compared to that of workers in Hong Kong. Millions and Millions of people were unemployed and starving in the rural area. Thus, the job opportunities from the cotton industries were like godsent to these people as people finally got a chance to get off the fields (Revoli 85-86). Unable to afford the huge expenses of factories and technology after being 'robbed' in World War II, the heads of the Chinese government like Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong agreed to 'abandon' the communist idea and support privatization. On the way to privatization, China again became the main supplier of apparel after eighteenth century. According to United Nations' COMTRADE database, American apparel export level …show more content…
For T-shirt making businesses, not much skills but a little physical strength was required for the base-line workers. At the same time, the employers from the American cotton industries found that adult female workers and child workers are just as productive as male workers, while the previous two groups of workers cause less trouble and rarely question the morality of the tough work and low pay (Revoli 76-78). In addition, female workers and child workers were paid lower and were more likely to be induced to undergo severe physical activities and can be easily replaced because of the amount of jobless rural women and kids in
In 1979, not far after Mao Zedong passed away as China tried to wake from the nightmare of Cultural Revolution, the average minimum wage for Chinese workers was 90 percent lower compared to that of workers in Hong Kong. Millions and Millions of people were unemployed and starving in the rural area. Thus, the job opportunities from the cotton industries were like godsent to these people as people finally got a chance to get off the fields (Revoli 85-86). Unable to afford the huge expenses of factories and technology after being 'robbed' in World War II, the heads of the Chinese government like Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong agreed to 'abandon' the communist idea and support privatization. On the way to privatization, China again became the main supplier of apparel after eighteenth century. According to United Nations' COMTRADE database, American apparel export level …show more content…
For T-shirt making businesses, not much skills but a little physical strength was required for the base-line workers. At the same time, the employers from the American cotton industries found that adult female workers and child workers are just as productive as male workers, while the previous two groups of workers cause less trouble and rarely question the morality of the tough work and low pay (Revoli 76-78). In addition, female workers and child workers were paid lower and were more likely to be induced to undergo severe physical activities and can be easily replaced because of the amount of jobless rural women and kids in