Chapter 8: A shirt in the market

These NCERT Class 7 Polity Chapter 8 notes explain how a simple shirt reaches the market after passing through many stages of production. The chapter helps students understand that many people are involved in making a product, but everyone does not earn equally.

A Shirt in the Market traces the journey of a shirt from cotton farmers to factories and finally to shops. It highlights the role of farmers, workers, traders, and brands, and clearly shows inequality in the market system.

This chapter helps students understand how markets function and why producers and workers often get less profit compared to traders.

1. Introduction: From cotton to shirt

• A simple shirt goes through many stages before reaching us.
• Many people are involved in making one shirt.
• Not everyone involved in this process earns equally.
• This chapter explains the journey of a shirt and inequality in markets.
• The price you pay for a shirt is shared very unevenly.

2. Journey of a shirt

• A shirt passes through different stages of production.
• Cotton farmer grows cotton.
• Spinning mill converts cotton into yarn.
• Cloth factory converts yarn into fabric.
• Garment factory stitches the shirt.
• Shirts reach wholesale and retail markets.
• Cotton grown in Maharashtra becomes a shirt sold in Delhi.

3. Role of cotton farmers

• Farmers grow cotton in fields.
• They sell cotton at low prices.
• Farmers face risks like crop failure and low market prices.
• Cotton farmers earn the least in the entire chain.

4. Role of factories

• Spinning and cloth mills convert cotton into yarn and cloth.
• These mills are owned by big companies.
• Garment factories stitch shirts.
• Factory workers are employed at low wages.
• Workers often work long hours for small wages.

5. Role of middlemen and traders

• Middlemen buy cloth from factories.
• They sell shirts to shops.
• Middlemen and traders earn high profits.

6. Inequality in the market

• Farmers and workers earn very little.
• Traders and brands earn much more.
• Profit distribution in the market is unequal.
• Those who work hardest earn the least.

7. Indian examples from daily life

• Cotton farmers in Maharashtra.
• Garment workers in Tiruppur.
• Big clothing brands selling shirts in malls.

8. Improving the situation

• Cooperative marketing can help farmers.
• Fair trade practices can reduce inequality.
• Government support can improve farmers’ income.

9. Important keywords with simple meanings

• Production – the process of making goods.
• Cotton farmer – a person who grows cotton crops.
• Spinning mill – a factory that makes yarn from cotton.
• Garment factory – a factory where clothes are stitched.
• Wholesale market – a market where goods are sold in large quantities.
• Retail market – a market where goods are sold directly to consumers.

Understanding NCERT Class 7 Polity Chapter 8 – A Shirt in the Market is important to learn how goods are produced and sold in markets. The chapter clearly explains inequality in earnings and shows why farmers and workers often earn the least despite hard work.

The ideas discussed in this chapter help students understand market inequality and economic justice and are highly useful for school examinations and foundation-level preparation.

Students should next read Chapter 9: Struggles for Equality to understand how people fight against inequality and injustice in society.

FAQs

Q1. What is explained in NCERT Class 7 Polity Chapter 8?
The chapter explains the journey of a shirt from cotton production to the market and inequality in earnings.

Q2. Who earns the least in the shirt production process?
Cotton farmers and factory workers earn the least.

Q3. What is the role of middlemen in the market?
Middlemen buy goods from producers and sell them to shops, earning profit.

Q4. Why is there inequality in the market?
Because profits are unevenly distributed among farmers, workers, traders, and brands.

Q5. Why is NCERT Class 7 Polity Chapter 8 important for exams?
It explains production, markets, and inequality, making it important for school exams and foundation-level preparation.