"Global capitalism begins with apparel. Slaves were brought to the American South from West Africa to do farm labor, and by the 19th century that largely meant cotton, a ubiquitous puffball that is easy to grow and aggravating to harvest. Seeds would be removed with a cotton gin, and the bulk of the puff would be sent to England, where it was turned into thread by gigantic steam-powered looms, woven together, and sewed into mass-produced coats, shirts, and pants."
"In the 1970s or thereabouts, this process broke in two: The corporation, which once lorded over vertically integrated processes to create a final product to sell to consumers, became a contractor coordinating logistics between an omniplex of factories dotted all over the world. In the post-industrial world, which is primarily in the Global North, brands deal with marketing, design, logistics, and materials acquisition; that workforce operates out of air-conditioned offices."
"Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Under Armour: These companies do not actually spin thread, tan leather, vulcanize rubber, or even put together the shoe. They design prototypes of a product and then facilitate all the actions necessary to make money off it. They pressure supplies and manufacturers at every level of the manufacturing process, send the product all over the world, sell it at a markup."
Apparel production originated from slave-picked cotton processed into textiles by industrial looms and sold worldwide. Since the 1970s, production fractured: corporations transformed into coordinators that outsource manufacturing to a global network of factories. Brands in the Global North focus on design, marketing, logistics, and materials while factory work moved to recently industrialized countries with cheaper, less unionized labor and accommodating governments. Brands exert pressure on suppliers and manufacturers to lower costs and innovate materials. The result is a bifurcated workforce: office-based brand coordination and factory-based production separated across geography and economic power.
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