India: Day Three

On day three we visited the Suryavanshi Mills. We saw polyester thread production and a small cut-and-sew operation.  We had an opportunity to visit a temple on our way back to the hotel and spent the afternoon saree shopping before a cultural night with our program.

The mill we visited used to produce cotton but switched to polyester because of costs and market demand.  We saw the polyester staple fibers carded to align their direction, and then the many steps required for spinning them into yarn.  I had previously seen similar production facilities during my trip to China last summer.

The workers in the mill had little-to-no personal protective equipment (PPE).  The fibers are in the air and stick to everything, and can be inhaled.  Byssinosis is an occupational disease caused by cotton fiber build-up in the lungs, and I imagine that the employees could face a similar threat with the polyester.  No one was wearing face masks and mostly everyone was barefoot (which is typical in India, but can be dangerous in a working environment).  In addition, the machines were loud and hot.  There was no ear protection worn by the employees and no ventilation system.  It's important to mention that this is the coolest time of the year and it's still upwards of eighty degrees daily.  Women were wearing aprons over sarees, which have a ton of fabric, posing risks both body temperature wise and machine safety wise.  Some wore hair coverings to keep their long hair back, but it was clear that though PPE may have been provided at one point, it was not enforced.

After the spinning facility, we went to their cut-and-sew facility (no photos allowed).  Many more workers were wearing masks and even bangle covers to protect them from getting stuck on the fabric.  We found the difference in mask wearing odd, as it would appear that the cut-and-sew facility did not require that sort of protection.  There were signs on the walls that had sayings about quality which were particularly interesting, because they were in English, which none of the workers knew.  The signs were really meant for visitors.

We visited the Ratnalayam Temple as an impromptu stop on our way back from the mill and were ambushed by children asking for "selfies".  There was the most colorful playground next to the temple, filled with children in beautiful traditional garments.

Finally back at the hotel, we went to the mall around the corner and searched for traditional Indian garments to wear to the cultural program that night.  After way too many hours, we found ones we love and ran back to the hotel to get ready before the party.

The party was tons of fun! We got henna tattoos, learned Bollywood dance moves, played party games (pin the bindi on the girl and drape a saree on a man), and saw beautiful dance performances.  It was a good day!