Light industry

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Bakery store Berman's Bakery store 2.jpg
Bakery store

Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for end users rather than as intermediates for use by other industries. Light industry facilities typically have a less environmental impact than those associated with heavy industry. For that reason, zoning laws are more likely to permit light industry near residential areas. [1]

Contents

One definition states that light industry is a "manufacturing activity that uses moderate amounts of partially processed materials to produce items of relatively high value per unit weight". [2]

Characteristics

Compared to heavy industries, light industries require fewer raw materials, space, and power. While light industry typically causes little pollution, particularly compared to heavy industry, some light industries can cause significant pollution or risk of contamination. For example, electronics manufacturing, itself often a light industry, can create potentially harmful levels of lead or chemical wastes in soil without proper handling of solder and waste products (such as cleaning and degreasing agents used in the manufacture).

Industry sectors

Marysville Nestle R&D Marysville Nestle R&D.jpg
Marysville Nestle R&D
A manufacturing device typical of light industry (a print machine). Pad printing machine.JPG
A manufacturing device typical of light industry (a print machine).

General-use products

History

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "light industry" from 1916 onwards. [3]

Within the later stages of the Industrial Revolution, the development of light industry tended to precede that of heavy industry. [4]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemical industry</span> Industry (branch), which is engaged in the manufacturing of chemical products

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemical waste</span> Waste made from harmful chemicals

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to industry:

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Sustainable fashion is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments, and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, including cutting CO2 emissions, addressing overproduction, reducing pollution and waste, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring that garment workers are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste</span> Unwanted or unusable materials

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardboard</span> Heavy-duty paper of various strengths

Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light brown in color, depending on the specific product; dyes, pigments, printing, and coatings are available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotton recycling</span>

Cotton recycling is the process of converting cotton fabric into fibers that can be reused into other textile products.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machine factory</span> Type of company

A machine factory is a company, that produces machines. These companies traditionally belong to the heavy industry sector in comparison to a more consumer oriented and less capital intensive light industry. Today many companies make more sophisticated smaller machines, and they belong to the light industry. The economic sector of machine factories is called the machine industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of fashion</span>

The fashion industry, particularly manufacture and use of apparel and footwear, is a significant driver of greenhouse gas emissions and plastic pollution. The rapid growth of fast fashion has led to around 80 billion items of clothing being consumed annually, with about 85% of clothes consumed in United States being sent to landfill.

References

  1. O'Sullivan, Arthur (2003). Economics: Principles in Action . Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. pp.  493. ISBN   0-13-063085-3.
  2. "Light Industry Law And Legal Definition". US Legal. Retrieved 26 Apr 2018.
  3. "light industry" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. Grinin, Leonid E. (2020). "Kondratieff Waves, Technological Modes, and the Theory of Production Revolutions". In Grinin, Leonid E.; Korotayev, Andrey V. (eds.). History & Mathematics: Investigating Past and Future. Volgograd: Издательство "Учитель". p. 53. ISBN   9785705759101 . Retrieved 4 July 2022. First, there appeared an industrial factory sector (mainly light industry), then the branches of the first processing cycle (steelmaking and iron smelting) and transport, and then the second processing cycle (manufacturing, chemical industry, and heavy engineering) develop especially rapidly. [...] This trend was common both in England and in other industrialized countries [...].