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Photo captions
Photos 1 - 10
1. Cotton seeds ripening four months after they have been planted.
The seed pods pictured are called bolls. Each boll contains about
30 seeds. The seeds are covered in thousands of cotton fibres, which
give the bolls a white, fluffy appearance.
2.When cotton is harvested, the seeds and the fibres are picked
together. These women are taking the seeds out by hand to leave
just the cotton fibre, which is called lint. It is important to
keep the lint clean, so they are working on a cloth. The tiny seeds
are placed on the floor at their feet.
3. Before the cotton can be used for making cloth, it has to be
spun into thread, or yarn. The tangled lint is stretched and twisted
around the wheel until it forms a continuous thread. In this picture,
the woman is turning the wheel with her hand. Her spinning wheel
is made out of a bicycle wheel.
4. In a factory, there are lots of different ways to wind the yarn,
depending on what it will be used for. Here we see yarn being wound
into large cones.
5. Weaving cotton on a hand-loom. In India, about 17 million people
work as hand-loom weavers.
6. This cotton is being dyed by hand. The dyer is wearing gloves
to protect her hands. Cotton can be dyed at many different stages,
before or after printing. A finished cloth hangs on the line, waiting
to be spread out to dry. There are over 300 different plants in
India which give colours for dyes.
7. Printing a pattern onto the cotton using a wooden block into
which a design has been carved. Designs are often based on flowers.
The block is dipped into a tray of dye and then pressed directly
onto the cloth by hand. Most block printing is done in the north-western
states of India, such as Gujarat.
8. After the cloth has been dyed and printed it is hung outside
to dry.
9. Sewing cotton cloth to make clothes at home. About eight million
people work in the clothing industry around the world. Women tend
to get paid less for the work that they do.
10. Choosing clothes in a shop in the UK. The clothing industry
makes a lot of money, but how much of it goes to people in the country
that makes the clothes?
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