Arrang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> clo<strong>the</strong>s at high speed, 12 hours a day. Dye<strong>in</strong>g for <strong>the</strong> manufacture <strong>of</strong> T-shirts with dest<strong>in</strong>ation Europe.
Chapter 4 <strong>Child</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>adult</strong> <strong>labour</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>garment</strong> <strong>export</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>of</strong> Tirupur 4.1 Introduction Tirupur is a small, but fast grow<strong>in</strong>g town situated <strong>in</strong> Coimbatore district <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> south <strong>of</strong> Tamil Nadu <strong>in</strong> <strong>India</strong>. The population <strong>of</strong> Tirupur is 2.35 lakhs as per 1991 census. But dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> last five years <strong>the</strong> town has developed <strong>in</strong>to all directions <strong>and</strong> many little villages around Tirupur started to develop around <strong>the</strong> centre <strong>of</strong> Tirupur due to <strong>the</strong> fast grow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>export</strong> knitwear or 'hosiery' <strong>in</strong>dustry. Today, <strong>the</strong> population is estimated at approximately 350,000 people. The orig<strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> hosiery <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> Tirupur traces back to <strong>the</strong> 1930s. Tirupur started as a cottage <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>and</strong> rema<strong>in</strong>ed so almost up to 1980, with low production rates <strong>the</strong>y ma<strong>in</strong>ly catered for <strong>the</strong> domestic <strong>and</strong> local markets. But s<strong>in</strong>ce 1980, Tirupur took advantage <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> grow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>export</strong> markets <strong>of</strong> hosiery <strong>garment</strong>s. 'From a modest beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> Rs 9.69 crore direct <strong>export</strong> from Tirupur <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> year 1984, <strong>the</strong> <strong>export</strong> <strong>of</strong> knitted <strong>garment</strong>s made an explosive growth up to Rs 1332.00 crores <strong>in</strong> 1994. The total production <strong>of</strong> cotton knitwear <strong>export</strong>ed from whole <strong>India</strong> was for 1984 <strong>and</strong> 1994 respectively, Rs 89.22 crores <strong>and</strong> Rs 2933.45 crores' 68 . Thus, Tirupur's share <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> total <strong>export</strong> <strong>of</strong> knitted <strong>garment</strong>s has <strong>in</strong>creased from 11% <strong>in</strong> 1984 to 45% <strong>in</strong> 1994. Today, 75% 69 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total production <strong>of</strong> cotton knitwear which is <strong>export</strong>ed from <strong>India</strong>, is manufactured <strong>in</strong> Tirupur. In terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total domestic production <strong>of</strong> knitted cotton <strong>garment</strong>s <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>, Tirupur accounts for about 35%, Delhi for 10%, Calcutta for 30% <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> rest is contributed by secondary centres throughout <strong>the</strong> country. Apart from direct <strong>export</strong> from Tirupur, many <strong>garment</strong> manufacturers also are suppliers to merchant <strong>export</strong>ers <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r places like Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore <strong>and</strong> Madras from where <strong>export</strong>s take place 70 . Tirupur managed to start bus<strong>in</strong>ess with large foreign retail trade cha<strong>in</strong>s <strong>and</strong> mail order houses, ma<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> Europe, like C&A, Otto, Quelle, Karstadt, H&M, Woolworth <strong>and</strong> Kaufhalle 71 . Up to 1985 <strong>the</strong> <strong>export</strong> growth was slow but steady <strong>and</strong> was conf<strong>in</strong>ed to T-shirts only. After 1985 <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry diversified very quickly <strong>and</strong> took up manufactur<strong>in</strong>g as well as direct <strong>export</strong>s <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r outer <strong>garment</strong>s such as jerseys, pullovers, ladies' blouses, dresses <strong>and</strong> skirts, trousers, nightwear, sportswear <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustrial wear. Due to successful manufactur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> <strong>export</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bulk <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>'s cotton knitwear (hosiery) <strong>garment</strong>s, Tirupur witnessed an explosive growth <strong>and</strong> became <strong>the</strong> pride <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong> <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> major foreign exchange earn<strong>in</strong>gs. The expansion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>garment</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> Tirupur was ma<strong>in</strong>ly caused by <strong>the</strong> structure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry 72 . There was no manufactur<strong>in</strong>g unit where all <strong>the</strong> processes <strong>of</strong> produc<strong>in</strong>g a <strong>garment</strong> were carried out under one ro<strong>of</strong>. Entrepreneurs started network<strong>in</strong>g among each o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>and</strong> became each o<strong>the</strong>r's suppliers <strong>of</strong> different processes. It proved to be more economical to run units where only one activity was carried out, called 'job-work units'. This resulted 68 The H<strong>in</strong>du, November 19, 1995. 'Great potential <strong>of</strong> a small town'. Op. cit. 69 The H<strong>in</strong>du, November 19, 1995. Ibid. 70 The H<strong>in</strong>du, November 19, 1995. Ibid. 71 The Times <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>, September 9, 1995. 'An <strong>in</strong>spir<strong>in</strong>g story <strong>of</strong> a boom town'. 72 A. Krishnakumar, Troubled Tirupur, Yarn price hikes put hosiery town <strong>in</strong> a b<strong>in</strong>d. In: Frontl<strong>in</strong>e, April 7, 1995, p. 73.
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