ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the clothing industry, which has a larger concentration of women employees than any other industry. The clothing industry has an exceptionally high reliance on female labour, about 80 per cent of the total labour force. Being a labour-intensive industry, it is particularly dependent on cheap labour. With a wide-ranging product – light and heavy clothing, men’s, women’s and children’s wear – the methods of production are diverse and unevenly developed. Since the war, developments of the clothing industry have been very uneven. The technical basis for development exists, but mostly the industry cannot afford it. The range of producers and the range of products make it difficult to typify contemporary production methods; there is a wider division of labour than that which occurs in the factory. The sewing machine has become a sophisticated and fast piece of equipment. Straight seams can now be stitched automatically so that this operation amounts to machine feeding rather than sewing.
