Industry Report The following extract is taken from a trade magazine article about modern clothing production. A single pair of jeans sold in a European sho...

(a) Two features of globalisation visible in this supply chain [2]

Any two of the following earn 1 mark each:

• Production stages spread across multiple countries: Cotton is grown in Uzbekistan, spun in Turkey, dyed in China, stitched in Bangladesh, and packaged in Poland. No single country handles the entire process, which is a defining feature of globalised manufacturing.
• Goods are sold internationally: The finished jeans are sold in a European shop, far from where any stage of production took place.
• Companies exploit wage differences between nations: The brand pays $7.50 in manufacturing costs for a garment retailed at $60, a ratio made possible by locating labour-intensive stages in countries where wages are low.
• Raw materials travel long distances: Cotton moves from Central Asia through multiple countries before reaching the end consumer, illustrating the global movement of commodities.

(b) One advantage and one disadvantage of the global production model [4]

Each point earns 2 marks (1 for identification, 1 for explanation).

Advantage: Manufacturing in countries like Bangladesh creates employment opportunities where alternative work may be scarce. The garment industry provides income for millions of workers who might otherwise have no formal employment. From the consumer's perspective, the low production costs ($7.50 per garment) can translate into lower retail prices, making clothing more affordable globally.

Disadvantage: Workers in the Bangladeshi factories earn approximately $95 per month, which is well below what local economists consider a living wage. This means that although globalisation creates jobs, the workers producing the goods do not share fairly in the profits generated by the supply chain. The vast gap between the $7.50 manufacturing cost and the $60 retail price suggests that the economic benefits flow disproportionately to the brand and retailer rather than to the workers whose labour creates the product. Long supply chains also make it difficult to hold companies accountable for working conditions, because responsibility is diffused across multiple countries and subcontractors.

(c) How useful is this trade magazine article for understanding the effects of globalisation on workers? [6]

Reasons the article is useful:

• Specific, verifiable data: The article provides concrete figures ($7.50 manufacturing cost versus $60 retail price; $95 monthly wages) that allow the reader to see the scale of the imbalance in how value is distributed along the supply chain.
• Credible sourcing: It references a 2023 labour rights investigation, which is a third-party source that has conducted its own research, adding credibility beyond the magazine's own reporting.
• Concrete illustration: By tracing a single product (jeans) through five countries, the article gives a tangible, easy-to-understand picture of how globalisation operates in practice. This is more accessible than abstract economic data.

Limitations of the article:

• Narrow scope: The article covers only one brand and one product type. The experience of workers producing jeans for this particular brand may not be representative of globalisation's effects across other industries, brands, or supply chains.
• Audience bias: A trade magazine is written for industry professionals (brands, retailers, manufacturers), not for workers or human rights advocates. This audience may influence how the information is presented, potentially downplaying criticism of industry practices compared to how a human rights report would frame the same facts.
• Missing perspectives: The article does not include the voices of the workers themselves. The reader learns about their wages but not their own views on their working conditions, job satisfaction, or alternatives. This limits the article's usefulness for understanding the lived experience of globalisation.

Award 5-6 for a balanced evaluation that draws on textual evidence to support both usefulness and limitations; 3-4 for some valid points with less developed analysis; 1-2 for superficial comments.