Light industry
The generic term light industry is mainly applied to the various branches of the consumer goods industry .
Once by the middle of the 20th century , the heavy industry in the industrialized countries had become the dominant industry, the emphasis of economic development in the shifted services and light industry. In the course of globalization , part of the production volume then migrated to low-wage countries. The product lines that today have a significant share in the People's Republic of China as the world's largest manufacturer of light industry products include: B. electrical household appliances , plastic products , beverages , cosmetics and packaging .
Plants and equipment for light industry require significantly less investment compared to heavy industry . In addition, the production lines only require relatively poorly qualified workers. Because of the comparatively low environmental pollution caused by the production facilities, light industry companies can also be located near residential areas.
Older definitions refer to this term industries that non-metallic process raw materials, such as the textile industry , wood industry , leather industry , paper industry , glass industry and ceramic industry .
literature
- Geography overviews ; Volk und Wissen publishing house, Berlin 1980.
- Encyclopædia Britannica : Britannica CD 99 Multimedia Edition . Light industry , britannica.com