Chapter 8 — A Shirt in the Market

This chapter traces the journey of a shirt from cotton grown by Swapna, a small farmer in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), through weavers in Erode, a garment factory near Delhi, and finally to a buyer in the United States, showing how unequal market power leaves small farmers, weavers, and factory workers with very little despite their hard work.

Chapter 8 follows the market chain linking Swapna, a small cotton farmer in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), to the buyer of a shirt in a US supermarket. Swapna borrows ₹2,500 from a local trader at high interest and is forced to sell her cotton to him at ₹1,500 per quintal, earning only ₹3,000 after loan deductions. Cloth woven by powerloom weavers in villages around Erode, Tamil Nadu — one of the world's largest cloth markets — reaches a garment exporting factory near Delhi through merchants using the putting-out system. The factory's 70 workers, mostly women on temporary contracts, earn as little as ₹1,500 per month. A shirt sold for ₹1,800 in the US earns the foreign businessperson ₹900 profit. The chapter concludes that market gains are unequal: merchants, exporters, and foreign businesses profit most, while farmers, weavers, and factory workers earn least.

1. 01Swapna, a small cotton farmer in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), borrowed ₹2,500 from a local trader to buy seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides, and was made to promise to sell her entire harvest only to him; after the trader deducted ₹3,000 for loan and interest, she received only ₹3,000.
2. 02The Erode bi-weekly cloth market in Tamil Nadu is one of the largest cloth markets in the world, where cloth made by village weavers and traders from many south Indian towns is bought and sold.
3. 03Under the putting-out system, a merchant supplies yarn to weavers who produce cloth at home; the merchant controls raw materials and the market, leaving weavers with low earnings despite working up to 12 hours a day for about ₹3,500 per month.
4. 04Each powerloom costs ₹20,000; a small weaver with two looms must invest ₹40,000, often by borrowing at high interest rates.
5. 05Weavers cooperatives help reduce dependence on merchants by collectively procuring yarn and handling marketing; the Tamil Nadu government supports cooperatives through the Free School Uniform programme and Co-optex stores.
6. 06The Impex garment exporting factory near Delhi has 70 workers, mostly women employed on a temporary basis; tailors earn ₹3,000 per month while thread cutters and button workers earn ₹1,500 per month.
7. 07A shirt priced at $26 (around ₹1,800) in the US was purchased from the garment exporter for ₹300; after spending ₹400 on advertising and ₹200 on storage, the foreign businessperson earns a profit of ₹900 per shirt.
8. 08The poor — farmers, weavers, and factory workers — are exploited in the market because they depend on the rich and powerful for loans, raw materials, marketing, and employment; forming cooperatives and enforcing laws strictly are ways to overcome this.