The True Cost
a documentary film exploring the impact of fashion on people and the planet.
In the 1960s 95% of US used clothes made in the US now only 3%
It’s a vicious cycle as retailers will keep cutting prices to undercut competitors, forcing factories to produce for less money and then causing competitors to ask for cheaper again
1,134 people died in a Bangladeshi factory collapse
3 trillion dollars annual industry in Bangladesh
Fairtrade fashion - why is this not as common as chocolate
Cotton farming in Texas - 80% of production is GM - demand is so high that the industry must move fast causing vast ecological problems as there is little respect for the land
BT cotton - patent GM plants in India - capitalism sold farms these seeds that were more expensive and required more pesticides causing debt and ecological problems - these problems cause cancers, mental handicaps and retardation for many young people born in Asia - the same companies that make the GMCs make the cancer treatments etc so win-win for big business - 250,000+ farmer suicides in India in the last 16 years, the most recorded in history
Desperation and anxiety increases with material possessions far from the propaganda we are sold - solve problems in your life through consumption - the American dream
Looks into vloggers and the problems they fuel
We purchase 80 billion items of new clothing a year 400% more than we did 20 years ago
Printers inc article Ernest Elmo Calkins - consumptionism - the things we use vs the things we use up - consumptionism gets people to use the things we use as the things we use up
The average American throws away 32 pounds of textile every year - even though people offset by giving to charity the journey of a T-shirt donated to charity is unsustainable anyway - only about 10% of the clothes we donate actually get sold in local thrift stores -
Patagonia - target ethical consumers instead of fast fashion customers
Ethical fashion is the new cut or hem, it should be a bigger concern than the aesthetic - Stella McCartney
Swallows - fair-trade fashion business and community builder
Texas organic cotton farming cooperative - why don’t we care as much about fair trade or organic clothing when the skin is the largest organ on the body - we don’t consider the true cost of fashion only the cost to ourselves as the consumer
Kanpur - leather export capital of India - 50 million litres of toxic waste water (chromium) poor into farming and drinking water each day - causing cancers, skin problems, stomach problems etc - is high fashion really more ethical if materials have been sourced from these areas?
Fashion is the number 2 most polluting industry on the earth after oil - we don’t take into account ecological costs in the cost of clothing -
Bangladeshi workers work incredibly long hours to support children through education but at the cost of spending time with their children or families - people have no idea about the struggles behind making their clothing for the workers -
Livia Firth - the green carpet challenge - fast fashion companies make us feel richer with cheaper clothing but in reality, they are making us poorer and the only people getting richer are the owners -
Cambodia - demands from factory workers for an increase in minimum wage to $160 per month - protests met with police brutality - the government are desperate for the business that companies bring so won’t increase wages
The decent working conditions and fair competition act - rejected by congress due to companies complains - voluntary codes of conduct never provide for the workers - company sourcing of fast fashion factories goes through a third party so no responsibility for the working conditions is on say H&M
Richard Wolff - you cannot criticise the economic system within American culture - capitalism is the reason for the problems in fashion today - we have to see the real scope of the problem we have! - the natural world has set limits that we cannot continue to exploit, the economic system does not - huge systemic change needed, therefor changing conditions for workers etc would just be solving the outcomes not the source of the problem -
Links between the ecological change we need being akin to the massive structural change of social rights movement
'Don’t mention the garment workers' banner
A really informative watch that's given me a lot of talking points and leads to research further. I think the most shocking factor was perhaps understanding the sheer scale of the problem, with fashion the second largest polluter on earth. Also the information about large pharma selling BT cotton GMC crops to Farmers potentially as a money-making strategy to then sell them cancer medication is very shocking. The visual research for this project can be so broad as it can encompass most consumer advertising as well as, of course, the many anti-industry campaigns from Greenpeace etc. Another interesting revelation was learning of the problems surrounding even charitably donated clothing as a majority of it is shipped to third world countries and not used effectively. However, I suspect it this may be more of a problem within the US were charity shops are less widespread and prevalent. I will need to conduct more UK centric research. It is also interesting to consider how high-end fashion and the recycling thereof could potentially not be as environmentally conscious as I think, with the potential for a garments material to be made elsewhere in an unsustainable way and only manufacture taking place in say Portugal.
I need to refine a bit more of a focus i.e. am I looking at the humanitarian problem or environmental or aspects of both.
No comments:
Post a Comment