Here is the class notes from Class 7 NCERT Civics – Chapter 9: A Shirt in the Market

 

The Cotton Farmer

  • Example: Swapna, a cotton farmer in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Needs to borrow money (often from traders or moneylenders) to buy seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.
  • Faces risks:
    • Crop failure due to pests or weather.
    • Debt if unable to repay loans.
  • Earns the least in the chain.

The Cloth Market

  • A large variety of cloth is sold in this market.
  • Cloth that is made by weavers in the villages around is also brought here for sale.
  • Around the market are offices of cloth merchants who buy this cloth.
  • These merchants supply cloth on order to garment manufacturers and exporters around the country.
  •  They purchase the yarn and give instructions to the weavers about the kind of cloth that is to be made.

Putting-out system– weavers producing cloth at home

  • The arrangement between the merchant and the weavers is an example of putting-out system, putting-out system, putting-out system, putting-out system, putting-out system, whereby the merchant supplies the raw material and receives the finished product.
  • The merchant distributes work among the weavers based on the orders he has received for cloth.
  • The weavers get the yarn from the merchant and supply him the cloth.
  • For the weavers, this arrangement seemingly has two advantages.
    • The weavers do not have to spend their money on purchase of yarn.
    •  the problem of selling the finished cloth is taken care of.
  • However, this dependence on the merchants both for raw materials and markets means that the merchants have a lot of power.
  • They give orders for what is to be made and they pay a very low price for making the cloth.

 The Cloth Factory

  • Machines turn cotton into cloth.
  • Large scale production.
  • Employs workers who:
    • Work long hours.
    • Earn low wages
  • Factory owners make more profit than workers.

The Garment Exporter

  • Buys cloth and gets it stitched into shirts.
  • Sells shirts to foreign buyers at negotiated prices.
  • Checks quality, cost, and timely delivery.
  • Employs workers in garment factories (low wages, long hours).
  • Makes a large profit if they export in bulk.

 The Retailer

  • Sells the shirt in a shopping mall or showroom.
  • Adds branding, packaging, and advertisement costs.
  • Sells shirt at much higher price than the cost of production.
  • Earns the highest profit in the entire chain.

Value Chain Summary

Farmer → Cotton Trader → Cloth Factory → Garment Exporter → Retailer → Consumer

  • At each step, value and price increase.
  • But the farmer and workers get the least share of the final price.

Market and Equality

  • The foreign businessperson made huge profits profits in the market.
  •  Compared to this, the garment exporter made only moderate profits.
  • On the other hand, the earnings of the workers at the garment export factory are barely enough to cover their day-to-day needs.
  • Farmer did not get a fair price in the market for what they produced.
  • Thus, not everyone gains equally in the market.
  • It is usually the rich and the powerful that get the maximum earning from the market.
  • The poor have to depend on the rich and the powerful for various things.
  • Because of this dependence, the poor are exploited in the market.
  • There are ways to overcome these such as forming cooperatives of producers and ensuring that laws are followed strictly.

 

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