ABSTRACT
Through time and space working conditions in textiles varied tremendously according to production organization, customs, power relations, fibre, or technology. 1 Take on the one hand a young girl who had actually been sold by her parents to a labour contractor for working during a given period in a Shanghai mill in the 1920s. She received hardly any pay, and worked for long hours in harsh conditions, living under total control of the 'boss' in crowded rooms, with no possessions. Then, on the other hand, take a Lancashire mule spinner in the same period, an 'aristocrat' with high income, who directed his team and could afford to take his family to a seaside resort. Both workers lived in entirely different conditions and yet, they both produced cotton yarn, that eventually competed in one market.
