In the book The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, the author, Pietra Rivoli, discusses the countries that were involved in the race to the bottom. Many countries tried their best to achieve their goals and take the lead in the cotton textile industry. Therefore, there are many countries that reached the top place in the textile industry, for example, New England, Japan, and China.
To begin with, Britain was the first country that took the lead in the textile industry in the Industrial Revolution. In 1812, almost all of the technology related to cotton textile production had been transferred to New England. In the early 1900s, New England had surpassed Britain in the cotton textile industry and emerged as the new leader in the race to the bottom. There are many ways that helped New England reach the top place in the textile industry. First, early mill workers allowed New England to hire young and single women from the farms. In the book,
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In the 1970s, China had surpassed Japan in the race to the bottom and emerged as a new leader in the textile and apparel industries. In the mid-1970s, China had become the world’s largest exporter of clothing. There are many ways that helped China reach the top place in the textile industry. First, hiring young women allowed China to reach the top place because of cheap labor and mostly unskilled workers. In the book, the author said that China had millions and millions of desperate young women who were very likely desperate to get off of the farm and work in the mills. Second, the working conditions were poor, but many young women willingly and uncomplainingly agreed to work there. In the book, the author said that young women worked eight hours per day, six days per week with low pay and in a bad working environment. In conclusion, China was the fourth country that reached the top place in the world’s textile industry after