MISS · Made in Sweatshops. Worker, technology and Gender (comparison Paris-Shanghai, Late 19th c.-Late 20th c.)

Made in Sweatshops. Worker, technology and Gender (comparison Paris-Shanghai, Late 19th c.-Late 20th c.)

The overall aim of MISS was to show how technologies fuel the misery of women's work and the depletion of industrial products, a development encouraged by the rise of neoliberalism. Four specific objectives (SO) were addressed: 1) technology The analysis focused on the entire production process, from creation to profit distribution. The sources studied were more numerous and varied than expected. - The bibliography on Prato, made in Italy, made in France, neoliberalism and free trade, and sweatshops was supplemented by an analysis of European regulations and migrations (Africa-Italy, China-Italy, Pakistan-Italy). I conducted interviews with workers, trade unionists and textile agency managers in Prato. - Following the distribution of my books, I was able to interview photographers specializing in migrants, employees of Médecins sans Frontières and SOS Méditerranée, and lobbyists in Brussels. - I visited factories, examining tools, machines, locations, ventilation, the number and gender of workers. The geography of Prato's industrial complex with its specialized districts (Macrolotto 1, 2, 3) but also the scattered family workshops were investigated right down. 2) the origins of the workers - I observed a decline in the number of women workers in manufacturing companies. Indeed, traditional analyses indicate the presence of 80% women in factories. In the Prato factories, this figure is more like 20%. - This decrease is due to the massive arrival of male migrants. The Pakistani and Bangladeshi population is constantly growing. - Whereas the Chinese used to hire their compatriots in the factories, they now choose to hire mostly Pakistanis in supervisory positions (foremen). The lower positions in the hierarchy are reserved for Africans. 3) the means of reproducibility - The analysis was to focus on tools and machines to understand the techniques of reproducibility. However, these tools and machines have remained unchanged for several decades. The reproducibility of objects and the volumes they generate are based, on the one hand, on the intense division of labor. The technical factor has little impact. Reproducibility is possible thanks to the number of workers and their governance in small structures. 4) Industrial and artistic property: in particular designs, patents, inventions and innovations, inventors and innovators. - The Chinese Made in Italy production system in Prato is based on the ownership of production tools and the purchase of Italian-sounding brands since the 1980s. Ownership of so-called "Italian" brands gives Made in Italy an aura and a reputation for Italian know-how. - Copying and plagiarism are a mainstay of Chinese creations in Prato.It's a racket organized on a massive scale - according to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. All stages of manufacturing and production are affected by illegality: illegal entry into a territory by migrants, false contracts, illegal dumping of waste, exchanges between mafia networks (Nigerian, Chinese Triad, Ndrangheta and Camorra). Human, drug and arms trafficking are intrinsically linked to the clothing industry. The impact of such trafficking directly affects consumers, notably through the presence of chemicals, carcinogens, mutagens and toxins in clothing.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз