Almost most of the footwear that all of us are wearing are manufactured in China, where cheap migrant workers are available to produce satisfactory work, but with the help of technology, they are more aware of the choices they have, to choose where to work. They are starting to be rather defiant, notwithstanding the deplorable conditions for working.
It was common in the past that, the migrant workers would queue up for ludicrously-low-paid jobs, but nowadays, even with triple the salary, half of a factory is deserted of labors.
Of course cheap labors benefit us consumers. The prices of export and retail had been having a steady decline. Now however, with the workers heading for better-paid jobs, the cost inevitably goes on an increasing trend.
Taiwanese factories are starting to move inwards, attracted by the less strict constrain in greenhouse gases emission, and also the land-rent which is relatively lower. Moreover, it is a rather daunting job to have to acclimatize with the new area. The problems are mainly due to the inconvenience of transporting and sourcing the raw materials. In addition, the logistics and transport infrastructures in the new location are not as good as the southern China, making it even more troublesome to obtain the raw materials, and may lead to another increase in the price.