ABSTRACT
The relevance of talking about human factors and ergonomics in relation to industrially developing countries (IDCs) can be described in several ways: there is a social or ethical responsibility for the working and living conditions of people in all countries on this planet in general. If anyone is not ready to accept this fact, he or she at least has to accept that our responsibility has been growing during the last several years, because of the growing globalization of economic activities (see UNCTAD 2007). Many people in Western countries enjoy low-priced goods made in developing countries often under bad working conditions (see https://www.chinalaborwatch.org). But even when buying goods at high prices, they are very likely to have been made in a developing country. While buying a quality shirt in Germany may cost more than EUR 125, its fabric mostly comes from Italy and the sewing
is done in Vietnam or China. The production costs are EUR 6 (Dobelmann 2007), but what are the salaries for the women sewing the shirts? How will this infl uence their working and living conditions?
