A Coca-Cola shirt workshop

Between December 2017 and March 2018, I had the opportunity to work on some photo projects in Mexico. I present a series of three articles about my work on the sweatshops of the Tehuacán region in the state of Puebla. I wrote a series of articles on the underside of the garment industries in Mexico.

Taste the moment

“Taste the moment” was the slogan of Coca-Cola in 2017. For our second workshop visit, we climbed a notch higher in the production line. Here we sew. At that time, they were mainly sewing uniforms for Coca-Cola staff. The workshop was dark. The low neon lighting was punctuated by the sun’s rays that filtered through curtains and the lights of sewing machines. Small sewing thread dust balls littered the floor. Electric wires hung everywhere.

A little girl came to visit her working mother. When the door opened, you could see the stark contrast between outside and inside. She wore a mask so not to be affected by dust. She came to say hello and left right away.

The stacks of Coca-Cola shirts were everywhere, on the tables, on the floor, in rooms reserved for storage and in the inner courtyard. The whole first floor was dedicated to garment making. A dozen people were part of the team. The owner of the house was also the owner of the small makeshift workshop. When we asked him what it would take to improve the current conditions of work, he answered the money. More money. Workers giggled and acquiesceded. The atmosphere seemed as relaxed as in the previous workshop.

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