Last time I showed you batik production. Today I thought you might be interested in printed cotton production. It is a largely automated process, rather than with such intensive manual labor like batiks.
There are two videos below. The first one is from Robert Kaufman and lasts less than 10 minutes. It gives an overview of the printing process. It includes recognition of design and the interaction of the U.S. offices with printing factories in Japan and Korea. There is no narration but there are a few captions and some pleasant music.
The second one is almost 19 minutes long, and includes narrated detail about the factory process. Fabric preparation (after weaving), printing, and finishing are included. If you have time, I think this one is more informative. If you have a half hour, you may enjoy both.
If you’d like to read my posts on quilting as a business, you can find them here:
Cotton — Where Does Your Fabric Come From?
Cotton — What Happens After Harvest?
Cotton — Weaving Fabric
Cotton — Batik Production
Cotton — Printing Designs
Quilting for Pay — The Longarm
Conversations with Artists
Price vs. Value of a Quilt, Part 1
Price vs. Value of a Quilt, Part 2
You Should Write Patterns
“It Feels Weird Asking for Pay”
Pay for Quilters (And other Crafters and Artists)
You Should Sell Those: A Play in Three Short Scenes, With Commentary
Catbird Quilt Studio 
The videos are fascinating. The Kaufman one gets into the design/production interaction a bit more, and that factory looks to be more up to date than the one featured in the other video. It was scary to hear about all the not-so-good-for-you chemicals used to prep the greige goods (just where does that waste go?) and see the factory working conditions. No safety goggles, respirators, ear protectors, etc., in evidence. I think I’ll continue to wash my fabric before use. I spent a minute looking for a video on organic cotton fabric production, but didn’t turn up anything useful.
If you find anything informative, please let me know. I think I mentioned I started to look into it but haven’t gotten very far. THanks.
Interesting and intensive process in that second video. He said ‘You can’t see 50 feet. The air is heavy with chemicals’. I saw no one wearing any masks for protection.
The working conditions are probably determined by country. Here is a long report on labor conditions in the textile industry. It will take me a while to dig through it.
Click to access 140841REV1-Workers-conditions-in-the-textile-and-clothing-sector-just-an-Asian-affair-FINAL.pdf