From the troubling recalls of Chinese-made toys to the loss of manufacturing jobs around the world, Chinese factories play a growing role in all of our lives.
Most of the world’s toys, shoes, computers and much of its clothing, furniture and consumer electronics are made in China. The recent scandals over product safety show how the environment in which these goods are made has a direct impact on the rest of the world.
And yet, how much do we really know about the factories that make the goods we use every day?
The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage takes readers behind the headlines and into the country’s vast ecosystem of export factories to meet the people who produce what we consume.
The book exposes a system of unregistered factories that cut corners on safety and working conditions to meet multinational companies’ demands for ever-lower prices. It documents how China’s export manufacturing industry allows millions of workers to move slowly out of poverty – even as they pay a price in terms of their own health. How the country’s coal mining sector continues to thrive – even as it produces a stunning 70 percent of the world’s coal mining deaths. And how a growing number of younger workers have had enough.
Called “essential reading for anyone concerned about how dangerous pet food and children’s clothing manufactured in China make it into American stores” by Kirkus Reviews, The China Price is a landmark investigation into the heart of China’s economy.
Click here to go to The China Price blog.