One-Week Factory Visit in Mainland China--Eva Hu

Week 3, the experience working in China was totally different than working in Hong Kong. Instead of sitting in the office, I could finally discover my wonders about what is inside of “Made in China” in person.  As company scheduled I visited 4 factories with my colleagues in P.R.C to understand the production flow.  The factories that I visited manufacture handbags, luggage, fabric and ox hide for Kipling and Eastpak.

When I walked into the first factory mill, Winning Dragon, I was overwhelmed by the work environment. Repeating noisy sound coming out from thousands of sewing machines, hot humid air smelt bad with machine oil and people’s perspirations. I felt like I was going to die in 10 seconds and hope to never work in this kind of environment. However when I turned around and saw those hardworking people, I suddenly raised my sympathy and regret. Some of workers looked similar like my age but we seemed in totally different status. They quitted to pursue higher educations in order to make money and feed families. In contrast, I was there to learn, to understand the production side of knowledge, in order to enhance my career development for my own interest. The supervisor who guided me is from Taiwan, told me he has been staying in Mainland China for 10 years managing the factory. He has seen a huge skill development on Chinese workers from zero to ten. That is becoming a part of reason why some the labor cost in China is increasing, in addition to some regulations from government, now a lot of manufactures are moving out of the country. For instance, Eastpak has moved their factories in Bengal, Cambodia and Thailand to save on cost. But on another aspects, China is moving forward to make better quality goods associate with prestige.

This is my factory mill called Winning Dragon. They produce 85% handbags for Kipling.

During the time spent there, I realized using technology is becoming an important role in Chinese manufacturing. Computerized pattern making machines and camera surveillances are widely used in factory mills. The company installed “water windows” to prevent worker dehydration and this helped cool down the overall temperature in factory mills. The function is similar like using air-conditioning, however, that is more energy and cost friendly.

The factory has improved a lot of technology. It's using computer software to sketch the blueprint of each individual piece.

My last factory visiting to a leather manufacturer was the worst experience I ever had. The harsh environment in that workshop was challenging to my body.  I spent two hours in the factory mill to understand the flow of making animal leathers, which is a procedure to change raw leather into a ready fabric. The stench of animal leather almost made me faint. A lot of chemical products were used on leathers to make unique textures and color effects, which made the smell even worse. While doing the chemical part, I did not see any workers with masks on or other protections. This made me worry about the workers’ safety and health. I cannot image the workers working in those conditions for 8 hours, 5 days a week without AC. Indeed, most of workers looked about 20 years old, but what surprised me were their facial expressions. There was no emotion attached, and ironically, they look like robots.

Harsh environment in the leather factory, workers usually do not have any protection in this factory mill. The smell in the factory was terrible because of the animal skin and chemical products.

After this factory trip in China, I start to realize the importance of the supply chain and sourcing in the overall production flow. I don't want to mention too much about the workers and their personal well being, but I think they deserve to be paid more given the tough working conditions they experience. 

Mengyi Hu (Eva)

VF