A Shirt in the Market

Q 1.Where does the story of a shirt begin and where does it end?
A:
● The story of the shirt begins with the production of cotton.
● It ends with the sale of a shirt.
Q 2.How does the chain of markets play an important role in the story of the shirt?
A:
● A chain of markets links the producer of cotton to the buyer of the shirt in the supermarket.
● Buying and selling takes place at every step in the chain.
● Everyone in the chain does not benefit equally from this.
● The retailer benefits the most from this chain.
Q 3.Briefly write about Swapna as a farmer in Kurnool?
A:Swapna is a small farmer in Kumool. She grows cotton on a small piece of land.
● Once cotton bolls ripen she picks them
● It takes several days as cotton bolls burst open at different times
● She takes her harvest to a local trader and not to Kurnool market.
● She had taken a Rs 2,500 loan at high interest rate from that trader to grow cotton.
● She had made a promise to sell her produce to him
Q 4.Why do farmers borrow money from moneylenders?
A:
● Cultivation of cotton requires a higher level of inputs like fertilizers and pesticides.
● Farmers have to incur heavy expenses on account of these inputs.
● Most often, the farmers need to borrow money to meet these expenses.
Q 5.Does she get the right price from the trader?
A:No, she does not get the right price.
● Her cotton is weighed and she is paid Rs. 1500/ quintal.
● She gets Rs. 6000/. Out of this Rs. 3000/ were deducted as loan and interest.
● She is told that cotton is selling cheap as there is lot of cotton in the market
● Her efforts of four months and clean and fine cotton also did not change the mind of trader,
● She does not argue. Though her earning is just a little more than a wage labourer.
Q 6.Why does Swapna not argue with the trader further?
A:
● Swapna knows that cotton will sell for at least ₹ 1800 per quintal.
● But she doesn’t argue further with the trader as he is a powerful man in the village.
● The farmers have to depend on him for loans not only for cultivation, but also to meet other
exigencies (urgent work) like illness, children’s school fees.
● During no work period of the year, the farmers have to borrow money for their survival.
Q 7.Give an account of the cloth market of Erode.
A:The Cloth Market of Erode
● Erode has a bi-weekly cloth market.
● This market is one of the largest cloth markets in the world.
● A large variety of cloth is sold in this market.
● Clothes that are made by weavers in the nearby villages are also brought here for sale.
● Offices of cloth merchants who buy this cloth are around the market.
● Other traders from many south Indian towns also come and purchase cloth here.
● On market days weavers bring cloth that has been made on order from the merchant.
● These merchants supply cloth in order to garment manufacturers and exporters around the country.
● They purchase the yam and give instructions to the weavers about the kind of cloth to be made.
Q 8.What is putting out system?
A:Putting out is a system in which the weavers weave clothes at home with the help of family members and charge
wages from the merchant. The merchants in turn supply the raw material and pay the wages and take the finished
product.
Q 9.Write the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘putting out system’.
A:For the weaver it has two advantages:
● They do not have to spend money for purchasing yam and know what and how much cloth they have
to make
● They do not face the problem of selling the finished cloth.
Disadvantages for the weaver
● They are dependent on the merchant for raw material as well as market
● They get low wages. They do not know from whom they are making the cloth
● They do not know the market price of the cloth.
Q 10.How has the merchant benefited in this system?
A:The merchant gives the orders and raw material. They get the cloth at low price and sell it to garment factories at
a high price.
Q11.Describe the earning of the weavers in a month.
A:
● Weavers invest all their savings or borrow money at a high interest rate to buy looms.
● Each loom costs ₹ 20,000.
● Hence, a small weaver with two looms has to invest ₹ 40,000.
● The work on these looms cannot be done by one weaver.
● The weaver and another adult member of his family work up to 12 hours a day to produce cloth.
● For all this work, the weaver’s family earns about ₹ 3500 per month.
Q 12.What is Weavers cooperative? How does it work?
A:Weavers are paid very little under the ‘putting-out system. Weaver’s cooperative is a way of reducing their
dependence.
● In a cooperative people with common interests come together and work for mutual benefit.
● They take activities collectively like procuring yam, distribution among weavers.
● They do the marketing also.
● The role of merchant is reduced and weavers earn higher income.
● Government also helps the cooperative by buying cloth from them at reasonable rates
● Tamil Nadu government runs a Free School Uniform programme in the state. The cloth is procured
from power loom weaver’s cooperatives.’
● Government buys cloth from handloom weaver’s cooperatives and sell it through ‘Co-optex stores
Q 13.What happens with the cloth sold at Erode?
A:The Erode merchant supplies the cotton cloth to the garment exporting factory near Delhi.
● The cloth is used to make shirts by the garment exporting factories.
● The shirts are exported to foreign buyers like businesspersons from US and Europe who own chain
of stores
● These stores do business on their terms. They demand the lowest price. They set high standards for
quality of production and timely delivery
● They deal strictly with any defects or delays in delivery.
Q 14.How does the exporter meet pressures from foreign buyers?
A:Exporters try their best to meet the conditions set by the buyers.
● They try to cut costs
● Get maximum work out of the workers at lowest possible wages.
● Thus maximise their profits and sell to foreign buyers at a cheap price.
Q 15.Give an account of the Impex garment factory.
A:
● The Impex garment factory has 70 workers.
● Most of them are women and are employed on a temporary basis.
● This means that whenever the employer feels that a worker is not needed, the worker is asked to
leave.
● Workers’ wages are fixed according to their skills.
● The highest paid among the workers are the tailors who get about ₹ 3,000 per month.
● Women are employed as helpers for thread cutting, buttoning, ironing and packaging.
● These jobs have the lowest wages, as mentioned below:
Payment to workers (per month) – Tailoring – ₹ 3,000, Ironing – ₹ 1.50, Checking – ₹ 2,000, Thread Cutting and
buttoning – ₹1,500
Q 16.Who earns maximum profit in the sale of shirts?
A:A shirt in the US is sold at 426 or around Rs.1200/.
● A businessperson purchases shirts from an exporter for Rs. 200/. He spends Rs 300/ on advertising
and another Rs. 100/ for storage.
● Thus the shirt cost him Rs 600/. He sells it for Rs.1200 with a profit of Rs 600
● On the other hand, garment exporters paid Rs. 15 to the worker per shirt. The cloth and other raw
material cost him Rs.70/ cost of running the office is Rs. 15. The shirt cost him Rs 100 which he sells
at Rs.200/
● Both of them earn 100% profit. The worker gets the minimum wage.
Q 17.Who are the gainers in the market?
A:
● A chain of markets links the producer of cotton to the buyer at the supermarket.
● Buying and selling takes place at every step in the chain.
● There are people who make profits in the market and there are some who do not gain as much from
this buying and selling.
● Despite their having toiled very hard, workers earn little.
Q 18.Who are involved in the process of buying and selling?
A:
● Factories, wholesalers, brokers, retailers and consumers are involved in this process of buying and
selling.
● They all gain from the business.
Q 19.Establish relationship between market and equality.
A:Market and Equality
● The foreign businessperson made huge profits in the market.
● The garment exporter made only moderate profits.
● On the other hand, the workers at the garment export factory earn barely enough to cover their
day-to-day needs.
● In the same way, we saw the small cotton farmer and the weaver at Erode put in long hours of hard
work. But they did not get a fair price in the market for their produce.
● The merchants or traders are somewhere in between.
● In comparison to the weavers they have earned more but it is still much less than the exporters.
● Thus, not everyone gains equally in the market.
● Democracy is also about getting a fair wage in the market. Whether it is Kanta or Swapna, if families
don’t earn enough then they can’t live with dignity.
● They cannot think of themselves as equal to others.
Q 20.What are the problems of the farmers and other producers? How can these be overcome?
A:
● On one hand, the market offers people opportunities for work qnd for sale of their products.
● On the other hand, the rich and the powerful get the maximum earnings from the market.
● These are the people who have money and own the factories, the large shops, large land holdings,
etc.
● The poor have to depend on the rich and the powerful for various things.
● They have to depend for loans, raw materials and marketing of their goods and most often for
employment.
● Because of this dependence, the poor are exploited in the market.
● There are ways to overcome these problems.
● They include forming cooperatives of producers and ensuring that laws are followed strictly.
Multiple Choice Qs
Q 1.The story of shirt does begins with:
(a) Spinning (b) Production of Cotton (c) Weaving (d) Selling
Q 2.How much amount did Swapna borrow to buy seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc.?
(a) ₹ 1500 (6) ₹ 2000 (c) ₹ 2500 (d) ₹ 3000
Q 3.What promise did Swapna make to the traders?
(a) Not to give interest to him (b) To give heavy amount of interest (c) To sell her all cotton to him (d) None of these
Q 4.Where is cotton sold in Andhra Pradesh?
(a) Kurnool (b) Hyderabad (c) Vijayawada (d) None of these
Q 5.Which is a factory where seeds are removed from cotton bolls and then spun into thread?
(a) Ginning mill (b) Cloth mill (c) Handloom factory (d) Powerloom factory
Q 6.Which is the largest cloth market in the world?
(a) Tamil Nadu (b) Delhi (c) Ahmedabad (d) Agra
Q 7.The cloth merchants sell their clothes from Erode cloth market to
(a) cloth trader (b) garment manufacturers (c) traders of Delhi (d) farmers of cotton
Q 8.Who from the following is part of the ‘putting out system’?
(a) Farmers (b) Weavers (c) Consumers (d) Foreign buyers
Q 9.Who sells his goods abroad?
(a) Importer (b) Exporter (e) Manufacturers (d) Merchant
Q 10.Who does not earn any profit when a shirt is sold to a consumer?
(a) Businessperson (b) Merchant (c) Worker (d) Exporter
Q 11.What links a Producer to a consumer?
(a) Chain of markets (b) buying (c) Selling (d ) All of these
Q 12.The amount that is left or gained from earnings after deduction of all the costs is called
(a) losses (b) profits (c) investment (d) all of these
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.
1. Chain of markets link the producer to the ………….. .
2. The arrangement between a merchant and weavers is an example of ……………… system.
3. Women are employed in garment factories as helpers on ………………. wages.
4. Cultivation of cotton requires a high level of inputs such as …………………… and …………….. .
A:1. consumer 2. putting out 3. Low 4. fertilizers, pesticides.
State whether the given statements are true or false.
1. Markets offer equal opportunities to all.
2. The weavers depend on the farmers for raw material.
3. Buying and selling takes place at every step in the chain of markets.
4. The foreign business persons do not make profit in the Indian market.
A:1. False 2. False 3. True 4. False.
Match the contents of Column A with that of Column B.

A:1. © 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (b).

Very Short Extra Qs and As
1: When cotton is harvested?
A: The bolls carrying cotton take several days to ripe and after it ripens it is harvested.
2: Name a few inputs required for cotton cultivation.
A: Seeds, Pesticides, fertilizers etc.
3: ___________________ weaves clothes that have been made on order from the merchant.
A: Weaver
4: What links the producer of cotton to the buyer of a shirt in the market?
A: Chain of market
5: Does everyone associated with the chain of market benefit equally?
A: No
6: Farmer requires borrowing money sometimes to meet the inputs required for _________________.
A: Cotton cultivation
7: How farmers are dependent upon traders?
A: To take loans for cultivation, and for other expenses like illness, education of their kids etc.
8: There is a time in a year when there is no work and no income for the farmers. True/ False.
A: True
9: What is the role of a cloth merchant in a chain of markets?
A: These merchants supply clothes in order to garment manufacturers and exporters throughout the country.
10: Weavers spend money on the purchase of yarn. True/False.
A: False
11: Who gave yarn to the weavers to weave the clothes?
A: Merchant
12: Who gave yarn to the weavers to weave the clothes?
A: garment factories
13: Weavers work alone on looms. True/False
A: Arrangement between merchant and weaver
14: Give an example of putting out system.
A: They use the cloth to make different dress
15: What is the role of garment exporting factories?
A: They maximise their own profits by getting maximum work from workers at lowest price and supply the foreign
buyers at cheap rates
16: Workers are paid ___________for this work
A: Less
17: Arrange following in increasing order on the basis of profit earn by them Garment exporters, foreign
business person, workers
A: Workers, Garment exporters, foreign business person
18: The foreign business person earns maximum profit, garment exporters make moderate profits and the
workers earn the minimum for their hard work. True/ False.
A: True
19: The foreign business person made a huge profit in the market. True/ False
A: True
20: What is a ginning mill?
A: A ginning mill is a factory where seeds are removed from cotton balls.
21. In what ways are weavers dependent on cloth merchants?
A: Weavers are dependent on cloth merchants both for raw materials and markets.
22. Did Swapna get a fair price on the cotton?
A: No, Swapna did not get a fair price on the cotton because the local trader paid her low price.
23. Who was Swapna?
A: Swapna was a small farmer in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) and grew cotton on her small piece of land.
24. Why did Swapna borrow money from the local trader?
A: Swapna had borrowed money from the trader to buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides for cultivation.
25. What do women workers do in the Impex garment factory?
A: They are employed as helpers for thread cutting, buttoning, ironing and packaging.
26. On what condition did the trader agree to give a loan to Swapna?
A: He agreed to give a loan to Swapna on a condition that she would sell all her cotton to him.
Short Extra Qs and As
1. How garment exporting factories maximise their own profit?
A: They maximise their own profits by getting maximum work from workers at lowest price and supply the foreign
buyers at cheap rates.
2. Why do you think more women are employed in the Impex garment factory?
A: Women are employed in the Impex garment factory because they agree to work even at the lowest possible
wages.
3. What is a putting-out arrangement?
A: It is an arrangement between the merchant and the weavers whereby the merchant supplies the raw material
and receives the finished product. It is prevalent in the weaving industry in most regions of India.
4. What are the reasons that the businessperson is able to make a huge profit in the market?
A: Business people do business strictly on their own terms. They demand the lowest prices from the supplier and
sell at a higher rate to high income groups.
5. Why did the trader pay Swapna a low price?
A: The trader had lent Swapna money at the beginning of the cropping season on a condition that she would sell
all her cotton to him. Thus, Swapna was in his grip. The trader took advantage of this situation and paid her a low
price.
6. Merchants hold a lot of power. Explain
A: 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. However, this dependence on the merchants both for raw
materials and markets means that the merchants have a lot of power.
7. Compare the earnings per shirt of the worker in the garment factory, the garment exporter and the
businessperson in the market abroad. What do you find?
A: The businessperson in the market abroad makes a profit of Rs. 600 on one shirt, the garment exporter gains
Rs. 100 on one shirt and the worker gets only Rs. 15 per shirt.
8. Explain the following term: Ginning mill, Exporter and Profit.
A: Ginning mill: A factory where seeds are removed from cotton bolls. The cotton is pressed into bales to be sent
spinning into thread.
Exporter: A person who sells goods abroad.
Profit: The amount that is left or gained from earnings after deducting all the costs. If the costs are more than the
earnings, it would lead to a loss.
9. If the weavers were to buy yarn on their own and sell cloth, they would probably earn three times more.
Do you think this is possible? How? Discuss.
A: If the weavers were to buy yarn on their own and sell cloth, they would probably earn three times more. Yes this
is possible because they would buy yarn at the lowest possible price and sell in the market of their choice at the
highest possible price.
10. How do exporters cut down the cost of manufacturing garments?
Or
How do the garment exporters meet the conditions set by the foreign buyers?
A: Faced with such pressures from the buyers, the garment exporting factories, in turn, try to cut costs. They get
the maximum work out of the workers at the lowest possible wages. This way they can maximise their own profits
and also supply the garments to foreign buyers at a cheap price.
11. How are small farmers dependent on local traders?Or How are small farmers in the grip of the local
trader?
A: The trader is a powerful man in the village and small farmers have to depend on him for loans not only for
cultivation, but also to meet other exigencies such as illnesses, children’s school fees. Also, there are times in the
year when there is no work and no income for the farmers, so borrowing money is the only means of survival.
Long Extra Qs and As
1. Where do you think large farmers would sell their cotton? How is their situation different from Swapna?
A: Large farmers would sell their cotton in the market. Their situation is different from Swapna. Unlike Swapna,
they do not have to depend on traders for loans for raw materials and to meet other exigencies such as illnesses,
children’s school fees etc. Thus they are free to sell their produce anywhere they wish.
2. What are the following people doing at the Erode cloth market– merchants, weavers, exporters?
A: Merchants – They supply cloth in 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.
Weavers – The weavers get the yarn from the merchant and supply him the cloth.
Exporters – The garment exporting factory will use the cloth to make shirts.
3. What made Swapna sell the cotton to the trader instead of selling at the Kurnool cotton market?
A: At the beginning of the cropping season, Swapna had borrowed
Rs 2,500 from the trader at a very high interest rate to buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides for cultivation. At that time,
the local trader made Swapna agree to another condition. He made her promise to sell all her cotton to him. Thus
Swapna had to sell the cotton to the trader instead of selling at the Kurnool cotton market.
4. How do weaver’s cooperatives reduce the dependence of weavers on the cloth merchants?
A: In a cooperative, people with common interests come together and work for their mutual benefit. In a weaver’s
cooperative, the weavers form a group and take up certain activities collectively. They procure yarn from the yarn
dealer and distribute it among the weavers. The cooperative also does the marketing. So, the role of the merchant
is reduced, and weavers get a fair price on the cloth.
5. What are the demands foreign buyers make on the garment exporters? Why do the garment exporters
agree to these demands?
A: They demand the lowest prices from the supplier. In addition, they set high standards for quality of production
and timely delivery. Any defects or delay in delivery is dealt with strictly.
The garment exporters agree to these demands because they get the maximum work out of the workers at the
lowest possible wages. This way they can maximise their own profits and also supply the garments to foreign
buyers at a cheap price.
6. How does the market work in favour of the rich and powerful? What are the ways to overcome them?
A: It is usually the rich and the powerful that get the maximum earnings from the market. These are the people
who have money and own the factories, the large shops, large land holdings, etc. The poor have to depend on the
rich and the powerful for various things. They have to depend for loans, for raw materials and marketing of their
goods, and most often for employment. 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.
7. Think of something common that we use. It could be sugar, tea, milk, pen, paper, pencil, etc. Discuss
through what chain of markets this reaches you. Can you think of the people that help in the production or
trade?
A: Chain of markets to produce Milk
(i) Dairy cooperatives first purchase milk at different locations.
(ii) After that, milk is transported to the milk factories by the dairy cooperatives.
(iii) Milk is processed in the factories and is packed.
(iv) Packets are then given to the traders who transport them to cities where wholesalers purchase these.
(v) Retailers purchase from the wholesalers then sell these packets of milk to the consumers in the open market in
booths.
8. How is putting out system advantageous and disadvantageous for the weavers?
A: For the weavers, this arrangement seemingly has two advantages.
● The weavers do not have to spend their money on the purchase of yarn.
● The problem of selling the finished cloth is taken care of.
For the weavers, this arrangement has the following disadvantages.
● They have to depend on the merchants both for raw materials and markets.
● Under this system 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 weavers have no way of knowing who they are making the cloth for or at what price it will be sold.
9. Describe the conditions of employment as well as the wages of workers in the garment exporting
factory. Do you think the workers get a fair deal?
A: Workers are made to work for long hours. They have pressure to produce quality products in limited time. Most
of these workers are employed on a temporary basis. This means that whenever the employer feels that a worker
is not needed, the worker can be asked to leave. Workers’ wages are fixed according to their skills. The highest
paid among the workers are the tailors who get about Rs 3,000 per month. Women are employed as helpers for
thread cutting, buttoning, ironing and packaging. These jobs have the lowest wages.
No, the workers do not get a fair deal because they are paid lowest possible wages and on the other hand most of
these workers are employed on a temporary basis.
10. Establish a relationship between the market and equality.OrDo you think that everyone gains equally in
the market?OrExplain relationship between the market and equality with the help of example.
A: The foreign businessperson made huge 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. Similarly, we saw the small cotton farmer and the weaver at Erode put in
long hours of hard work. But they did not get a fair price in the market for what they produced. The merchants or
traders are somewhere in between. Compared to the weavers, they have earned more but it is still much less than
the exporter. Thus, not everyone gains equally in the market.
Assertion and Reason Qs
Q.1: There are two statements given below, marked as Assertions (A) and Reasons (R) . Read the statements
and choose the correct option.
a.) Only A is correct
b.) Both are correct but R is not the explanation of A.
c.) Only R is correct
d.) Both are correct and R is the explanation of A.

1. Assertion (A) : The cloth which we get in the market is produced in one factory and then supplied to
different parts of the country.
Reason (R) : The production of clothes includes all the people from the production of cotton in the
farm to stitching in factories.
2. Assertion (A) : Farmers who produce cotton have to borrow loans from the traders so that
they can get the seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc to grow their crops more nicely.
Reason (R) : The traders are the only ones who supply the farmers financially but sometimes pay
them less for the cotton they purchase.
3. Assertion (A) : The weavers get the yarn from the merchant and they in turn have to supply them
with the finished cloth.
Reason (R) : The weavers have to pay the merchant the amount of purchasing the yarn and then
supplying them with the cloth they have weaved.
4. Assertion (A) : The merchants who supply yarn to the weavers are in high power and they pay a
very low price for making the cloth.
Reason (R) : The merchant sells the cloth at the cloth market and sells at a higher price thus
earning more profit and this is how the market works in the favor of the merchant.
5. Assertion (A) : The weavers who work for 12 hours a day earn a lot of profit because two members
are required to weave the cloth.
Reason (R) : The cost of purchasing the loom and the amount they earn from weaving the cloth has
a lot of difference and hence they suffer loss from this business.
6. Assertion (A) : The cloth is sold to the shirt producing factories who in turn sell the clothes to the
businessman who deals in these products and sells the shirts to the final customer.
Reason (R) : The quality of the product is high and the delivery is always on time and even they
want that the customers get satisfied by the quality of the product.
7. Assertion (A) : Women workers have no job security and all the women working in the factory are
paid according to their skills .
Reason (R) : Women workers are paid the highest amount as they are engaged in stitching , cutting,
threading etc.
8. Assertion (A) : All the people working in the production of cotton to produce shirts from that cotton
earns equal.
Reason (R) : Not everyone earns the same amount despite working very hard to earn profit. The
middleman earns more profit as compared to the others.
9. Assertion (A) : The foreign businessman earns the maximum profit and the cotton producers earn
the least profit and therefore they find it difficult to meet their basic needs.
Reason (R) : The rich and the powerful person earns the maximum profit because they know that
they can mold the minds of the smaller and weak people easily.
10. Assertion (A) : Our market provides a fair and free market to produce goods and sell them at a
favorable price.
Reason (R) : The foreign businesspersons earn more profit as compared to the other because they
are very powerful. The small and weaker sections of people earn very less.