1) The documentary follows three young girls - Jasmine, Li Ping, and Orchid - who work long hours in a Chinese jeans factory called Linseng for low pay under difficult conditions. 2) The factory owner, Mr. Lam, sees the workers as replaceable and cares little for their well-being. He expects them to work overtime without proper compensation. 3) The girls work 12+ hour shifts with little rest. They have few rights and face penalties for small infractions. Their hard work produces jeans for western consumers but provides little opportunity to improve their own lives.

1. Extra Credit Ida Daly
Section2 11/25/14
From China: With Love, Sweat, and Tears
Everyday millionsof people are wearingblue jeans. There seemstobe anew fade everyother
monththat one simply mustgetinorderto maintaintheirappearance. However,notmanypeople
actuallysitdownand thinkaboutwhere theirjeansare comingfrom. Itis commonpractice to justlook
at the name brandand assume thatthe companywhichison the logomade them. The documentary
China Blue made me realize exactlywhoismakingmyjeansandwhattheygo throughin orderto put
theminmy dresser.
The documentaryfollowsthreeyounggirls workinginLinseng,aChinese jeansmanufacturing
factory. The ownerof Linseng,Mr. Lam, isthe formerpolice chief of Shaxi. He comesfroma farming
familyandquitschool at fifteen inordertoworkat a cattle farm. Thoughhe workedhiswaytothe top,
Mr. Lam seemstohave forgottenhispoorupbringingashe wasquotedinsaying, “These farmersare 20
yearsbehind. Youcan’t teachthemwork ethics. It’sbeyondthem.” Itisclearearlyon that Mr. Lam has
no real concernfor hisworkers.
Jasmine,17,is a newlymigratedthreadcutter. Justoutof highschool,Jasmine leftherfamilyin
SichuanProvince,Central Chinainsearchof work. Asa threadcutterit isher responsibilitytocutall the
loose threads,brushlintoff,andcheckthe pocketsforloose threads;all forwhich she ispaidmerelya
half a yuan in1 hour(6 centsAmerican). Uponarrival,Jasmine istoldthatworkbeginsat8am and
overtime beginsat7pm goinguntil 2 or 3 am, sometimesall night. Despitethiswarning,astime goes
on,work hoursget longerandJasmine realizesthe painful truth behindLinseng.

2. Li Ping, one of Jasmine’sroommates,is14. She is a seamstress andgetspaidby the piece.
However,she doesn’tknow howmuchshe is paidbecause it’suptothe supervisor atthe time to
determine herpay. The onlythoughtgoingthroughmyhead at thistime washow theycoulddothis.
LivinginAmericamywhole life andknowingonlyourlaws,Iwasflabbergasted. Icouldn’tunderstand
howtheycouldnot onlynottell herwhather pay wasbut hire herdespite herage. Itwas my belief that
childlaborlawshad beenenforcedworldwide. However,Iquicklyfoundoutthatmanyof the girlsin
the factory are around Li Ping’sage. Uponwatchingthe documentary,Ilearnedthatchildlaborlaws
were indeedsupposedtobe followedbutmanyworkershave fake IDsinorderto work andprovide for
theirfamiliesbackhome.
In fact, over130 millionChinese peasants,mostlyyoungwomen,have lefttheirvillagesin
searchof jobs. Theymake up the world’slargestpool of cheaplaborers. The vastmajority endupin
workshopslike Linsengwhichare the mainproducersof clothesandothercommoditiesforwestern
consumers. These factoriesmostlyhire female workerswhoare quietandobedient. If the womenget
pregnant,theyare fired. Again,livingin America,Icouldnotcomprehendthis.
The last girl beingobservedinthe movie isOrchid,20. She was taughtspecialty sewingearlyin
herarrival.Her jobis to install zippers,allowinghertogetoff earlierthanothergirls. Comparedtothe
othergirls,Orchidmakesa “good” livingbringinginaround1000 yuan($120) a month. Thisallowsher
to sendmoneyhome toherparentseverymonth. ThoughOrchidwas acceptedtocollege,she wasnot
allowedtogobecause she wasacceptedat the same time asher brother. Withherbrotherneeding
5000 yuanfor school,the familycouldn’taffordtosendbothsoshe was forcedtogive up. It iscommon
practice in China,andmanyothercountriesinAsia, forsonsto receive extendededucationover
daughtersbecause itisbelievedthatthe sonmustearnan educationinorderto take care of hisfuture
family.

3. Thoughlivingquartersare provided,the workersstill live indire circumstances. Theyare
groupedtogetherinaroom of twelve andmustwashtheirclothesbyhand.Theyhangtheirclothesup
to dry on theirterraces. Hotwater coststheman extrahalf a yuan,whichmostcannotafford. So the
majoritywashesclothesandtakes bathsincoldwater.
Workersare supposedlyprovidedwithfreefood. However, manyworkersstate thattheirfood
isdeducted fromtheirpay. Theyare servedCantonese foodwithnoaddedspicesorflavoringevery
meal and are forcedto dine intheirroomsbecause there isnota lunchroom. Thoughtheycan get into
trouble andbe fined,manyeatinthe factory cutter’sroombecause itis more convenientsinceittakes
much of theirbreakto getto theirrooms.Together,theypitchedinandboughta small television forthe
room sotheycan stayup to date on currentevents.
Midnightsnackis the onlyfoodtheytrulygetfor free. A feelingof absoluteoutrage filledme as
the ownerwentonrecord claimingthatthe workerstake advantage of the factory because theygeta
free midnightsnackwhentheyworkovertime buttheyinflate theirproductionnumbers. Mostof these
people are beingforcedtowork17 hoursor more a day to pushoutrush orders. These individualsare
goingon lessthanfourhours of sleepinmanyinstances.
In orderto not getcaught sleepingonthe job,many use clothespinstoholdtheireyesopen.
The managersuse screwdrivers andotherdevices towake upsleepingworkers. The workersface fines
for fallingasleep,beinglate,andmanyotherthings. If theyhave abad attitude,theycouldbe finedup
to 200 yuan.Theyare notallowedto laugh;evenalittle giggle will getthemfined. Bythe time they
receive theirpaychecks,half of theirearningshave beentakenforfines.
Often,the ownerpaysthe workerswhenitisconvenientforhim andnot on theirscheduled
monthlypayday. Duringthe film,the workersgoformonthswithoutpay. The workersorganize astrike
duringa rush orderdespite itbeingillegal. (InChina,laborunionsandstrike organizersriskbeingsent

4. to re-educationlaborcamps.) Duringthe strike,Iwasfilledwithrage once again as the owner
continuedto belittlethe workerssaying,““The workersonlywanttofeathertheirownnest. Iknow
howtheythink. WhenI was police chief,we handledmigrantworkers. Manyviolate the law. When
theysee otherpeople’snice things,theygetjealous. They’dkillforafew dimes.”
In orderto get the rush jobdone,the ownerfinallyagreestopaythemif theygetback to work.
However,whenitistime tocollecttheirpay,Jasmine learnsthatthe companyheldherfirstpaycheck.
Many workshopsdothisinorder to preventworkersfromleaving. Icouldn’timaginegoingmonths
withoutpay,onlytofindout myemployerkeptit!
Factory workersworksevendaysaweekmostof the year. Duringthistime,itis commonfor
themto put in15-20 hoursa day. Theyare notallowedtotalkduringtheirshiftsand donot receive
overtime oreventhe minimumwage requiredbylaw. The supervisorgivesaquotaof 3000 piecesfor
the day and if workersare not finishedby11:30 p.m.,theycontinue workingwithoutpay. Inorderto
get2-4 hoursof sleep,theymustdotheirchoresduringtheirbreaks,leavingthemnotime torelax or
developsolidfriendshipswithanyone outside of theirroommates.
Sadly,thisisthe case at mostof the factoriesinChina. Wheninternational retailersinthe west
hearof concerns,theyrespondbysimplysendinginspectorstothe factories. Dr.LiuKaiming,Inst.Of
ContemporaryObservationShenzhen,Chinasays thatthe factorydepictedinfilmisbetterthanmost.
The inspectorssentbymultinationalretailersrarelyfindproblemsbecausethe factoriesgetadvanced
notice andcoach theirworkerstolie toinspectors. He states,“The retailersandsuppliersare playingan
elaborate game. Theyonlywanttoreassure consumersandnot improve conditions.”YangChing, a
formerfactorymanagerat a nearbyfactory,saysher bosswas afraidworkerswouldtell inspectorswhat
the factory wasreallylike. “He gave managersa memoto teachthe workerswhatto say. The workers
had to saythat theyreceive breakswhentheydon’tandthattheywere allowedfree bathroombreaks.

5. In reality,workerscouldn’tgofreelytobathroomastheywere onlyallowedtogotwo timesduringtheir
shift.” Chingwentonto state that her real paywas 300 Yuan($36) but she hadto sign a papersaying
she was paid $97.
Most Chinese factoriesfalsifytheirrecords,andkeepadouble time cardsystemwhere workers
punchone card themselves andthenthe factoryhiresspecial securitytopunchthe fake cards. These
thingsmake itimpossibleforinspectorstofindthe truth. Furtherdeterioratingeffortsisthe banon
mediaaccessput inplace by majorproductbrands. In myopinion,inspectors willneverbe able tohelp
the workersif thisban isnot liftedratherby the majorcompanies themselves orbylaw.
Workersfromother factoriesstatedthattheycouldnotcomplaintothe inspectorsabout
overtime beingtoohardbecause itwouldcause the factory to lose orders. Thisseemstobe a big
reasonwhymany keepquietastheyare afraidof losingtheirjobs. Thisremindedme of the many
Mexicanand FilipinofarmlaborersinAmericapriortothe formationof the UnitedFarmWorkers Union.
Theywere alsoafraidto complainof theirtreatmentbecause theycouldeasilylose theirjobsandbe
replaced.
Duringthe film,Delegationfrom the Hong- Kong- CanadaBusinessAssociationcame tovisit
Linseng. Uponarrival,the veryfirstthingthe delegatespointedouthow cheapthe laboris. Second,
theypointedoutthe vastresources,particularlyhumanresources. Apparentlytheseindividualseither
don’tcare aboutthe people theyare steppingontoget theirneedsmetorthey’re simplyjustthat
naive. Ibelieve Iwill stickwith naive/stupidbecauseone womanfollowedthatcommentbyexcitedly
commentingonhowconvenientitisthatworkerscan go back to theirplacestoeat theirlunch. (Thisis
all while the videofocusesonworkershangingover openwindows/terracesfilledwithdryingclothes.)
However,despite herseeminglyexcitednature,whenaskedif she’dlike togoto theircanteensandeat

6. withthem,she replies“Nobut’sit’sconvenientforthem”. It’samazinghow highlysome people can
thinkof themselveswhile notcaringthe slightestaboutpeople inplainsight.
Afterlearningthatworkerswere allowedmerelyone holiday,ChineseNew Year,Iwasdeeply
saddened. Manyworkerscannotaffordto go home everyyear. Li Pingand Orchidare able togo home.
Thisis the firsttime infouryearsthat Orchidis able to go home. However,due toJasmine notreceiving
herfirstpay check,she was unable totravel home tosee herfamilyandwas forcedto remainatthe
factoryalone.
Jasmine’s constantstruggle made myheartbreak. Puttingmyself inhershoes,missingmy
familyanddealingwithbeingconsistentlyoverworkedissimplyheartwrenching andunbearable. My
son iselevenyearsold. Knowingthatif ourgeographical locationwasdifferent,he couldbe facedwith
these conditionsisunthinkable. Mydaughter,once of age, couldbe subjectedtothishorrible wayof
life if circumstanceswere different. Itdefinitelymakesme appreciate ourcountryevenmore.
The conditionsworkersface hassheda new lightonnecessitiesinmylife. Nolongerwill Ibuy
clothessimply becausetheyare the “musthave fashionof the season”. The endof thismovie will
foreverstickwithme,“In the 1 ½- 2 hoursit takestowatch a movie,Jasmine andher15 co-workerswill
have prepared50 pairs of jeansfor shipping.Togetherearningamere $1.45”.
Citations
Peled,M.X.,TeddyBearFilms.,&IndependentTelevisionService.(2005). China Blue. SanFrancisco,CA:
TeddyBear Films.