How we make stuff

  1. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
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Who invented Factories

Just a few hundred years ago, everything was made using simple tools in homes and small workshops. But in 1771, a British wig-maker called Richard Arkwright changed the world by building the first cotton-spinning factory. Today most of the stuff we buy has been mass-produced by machines in factories around the world.

Based on the original book ‘How We Make Stuff’ by Christiane Dorion, Templar Publishing, 2012.
Website text by Christiane Dorion - Design by Harriet Pellereau.

© 2012 Ellen MacArthur Foundation - Illustration © Beverley Young - Text © Christiane Dorion