The amount of goods that are produced today is incredible compared to pre-industrialized times. Before industrialization, products were typically made by a craftsman who served their communities' needs for their service. It could be a blacksmith who made the nails that held the buildings together or a seamstress who made the clothing for the town. For the most part, these small communities made up much of the United States.
As industrialization began, factory work began, and products were able to be made more efficiently and consistently. Instead of a blacksmith creating one nail at a time, a factory could streamline the process and produce hundreds to even thousands of nails in a day. As standardized mass production increased, the craftsmanship trade began to decrease.
This is not to say that mass production is entirely negative. Mass production led to millions of jobs. It allowed necessities of food, clothing, and shelter to become more obtainable. It allowed countries like the United States to take advantage of a workforce and industry to produce enough supplies and equipment to win WWII. It allowed the creation of much of the infrastructure that we use today.
However, the mass production that we see today has its downsides. One example is overproduction. The rise of fast fashion trends, consumers choosing not to repair/patch worn clothing, and lower-priced goods have led to incredible amounts of waste in the textile industry. The EPA reports that in 2018 that 11.3 million tons of clothing were discarded in landfills.
While many know the effects of the automotive industry leaving Detroit, many don't understand the effects that small communities experienced. As explained before, small communities thrived on skilled trades; however, some factory work was developed and provided job support to many small communities. With globalized trade in the late 1900s and 2000s, factories offshored, and communities that relied on factory work deteriorated. Remnants of large brick buildings that once provided jobs for many of these community members now have broken windows and graffiti.
Lastly, global mass production has led to skill loss in the United States. The term “brain drain” is often used to refer to the loss of highly skilled individuals leaving a community. This is often seen in less developed nations as educated people leave their country for a more developed nation in the search for a better life. However, the United States is experiencing a brain drain itself. Skillsets such as machinists, injection molding designers, and seamstresses are being moved overseas. Sadly, the labor force that has these skills is retiring/passing before younger generations can gain these skillsets.
As stated before, mass production is not inherently bad. There are aspects that are positive and negative. Mass production will likely not go away for a very long time. That means today, we need to avoid short-term thinking and plan for how we produce goods for the next several generations. This includes making sure that when we make purchases for mass-produced goods, we keep in mind the lifespan of the product to avoid waste. We can also make decisions with our purchases to support the U.S. skillset and small communities.
Thank you for reading the first Balanced-Scales newsletter. The goal of balanced-scales.com is to collect a list of products that are produced in the United States. When you make a small decision to purchase a product that is still produced in the United States, you support the U.S. skillset and small communities. By purchasing through the Amazon affiliate link on the product pages, you support the mission to balance the scales of manufacturing business ethics.