Here is toy manufacturing in China, the portfolio on this web site is very good. For the amateur side, I have pictures I took in garment, shoe and galvanizing plants uploaded in the media tab for class members to use in posts.
Manufacturing in photos
After looking through the album I somehow felt sad. The conditions in the factories did not seem as bad as I would have thought… yet I was left with an impression that made me pity the workers. The picture of the two workers sleeping on a box in the factory visually impacted me. The children’s toys which are supposed to bring happiness for children is the product of harsh labor and grueling hours of mass production. The art exhibit captured the feelings I had upon seeing the pictures well.
I noticed how many of the workers were women and their expressions are all downcast. In several of the photographs the lines look as if they have guards overseeing them and they could just as easily be in a prison as a factory. As we read in class women who left the farm and moved to the city for work often took jobs in factories. As the Chinese Middle Class expands work like this will slowly phase out hopefully like it did in America through Unions and government intervention.
I’ve worked in factories, so can attest that it is, well, work. As we’ll read in Hessler, employees are relatively poor, so sleeping on the floor may be their choice, as a way to save and send more money home. As you note, if wages continue to rise, such labor-intensive products will cease to be made in China.
Remember, too, that photos are chosen for their visual impact. Some have smiling workers; some don’t. If all the photos were one or the other they’d be boring, no? But pay attention to the generally good lighting, clean spaces, and to the clothing that the workers wear – new and sometimes stylish.