All that is not heavy industry is called light industry, producing a wide array of manufactured goods, from porcelains to foods and beverages, or luxury items, like jewels.

Some types of light industries, like textile, printing, or plastic materials require numerous workforce. Smaller companies have hundreds to less than 20 employees. Unlike in heavy industry, light industry employees are rather women, especially textile and clothing or electronic gear industries. Light industry tends to be clean, it does not produce large amounts of wastes and pollution and most fabrics are power fueled. That's why they can be placed in or near residential areas. This means the workplace can be close to home.

Most fabrics in the light industry have just one level. As light industry does not require the supply with large amounts of raw materials, they do not have to be placed near railways. Usually, the raw material in the light industry is produced by the heavy industry (like energetic, mining, chemical industries, silviculture and agriculture). There is a tendency to locate the light industry in rural areas in developed countries.

The light industry is of two types: consumer's sector that produces shelf products (large companies of mass production of food, clothes, furniture, ceramics, printings, tobacco and so on, small mechanical companies) and processing sector that assembles goods. In many cases, light industry requires qualified work.

In many countries, especially in the Middle East and Eastern Asia, crafts are an important part of the light industry. Bazaars (markets) in Arab countries, northern Africa and southwestern Asia contain, besides fabric goods, many crafted products. Craftsmen can be seen in such places processing gold, silver, leather, or tailoring, pottering or carving wood. In western countries, this is seen more as art (like traditional wood carving, roof making, pottery, painting, framing or ancient smith craft), and there are crafts like musical instrument (violin or piano) repairing.