How did Robert Owen try to persuade manufacturers to support factory reform in 1815?

In 1815, Robert Owen convened a meeting of manufacturers to advocate for factory reform. While he successfully lobbied the group to support the removal of import taxes on cotton, his specific proposal to reduce the working hours of children in mills was defeated.1

Owen’s broader efforts as a social reformer were rooted in his belief that human character is shaped by environmental influences, a philosophy he demonstrated through the success of his New Lanark mills. Despite the failure of his 1815 legislative proposals, his work remained influential, eventually leading him to become a forerunner of socialism and the cooperative movement, where he argued for the subordination of machinery to human well-being.12