Two thousand and fifteen is proving to be an excellent year for fashionable films. So far there have been stories of haute couture, stylish icons who collect jewelry, and now a film about the clothes we wear and the people who make them. Over the last couple of years, I've read several books about ethical production and sustainability, but none of them have had the visual impact that this does. After watching THE TRUE COST I only had one question. How has something as necessary and beautiful as fashion become so ugly?
Fashion is a $3 trillion dollar industry with one 1 in every 6 people alive in the world today working in some part of the global fashion game. This makes it the most labor dependent industry on earth. The economic and social importance can not be denied and shouldn't be thought of as trivial.
Fast Fashion however, is a culture of disposable excess. Companies knowingly distribute poor quality merchandise at low prices in hopes that you will buy more. This type of excess has produced landfills full of non-biodegradable waste, contaminated water supplies, and poor working conditions in developing countries. In 2013, Bangladesh suffered the worst garment factory disaster in history. Unsafe working conditions at Rana Plaza cost over 1,100 people their lives. This is a price that no one can afford to pay.
Directed by Andrew Morgan and produced by Livia Firth, THE TRUE COST is a powerful documentary that will help everyone understand the perils and realities associated with fast fashion's abuse of cheap labor. The plain truth is fashion isn't always pretty, but we can no longer afford to continue turning a blind eye and absolve ourselves of any responsibility. Become an educated consumer and learn to be more discerning with your purchases. It's okay to care about the people who make your clothes and the impact it has on our environment. This isn't just a film for fashion people, this is a film for anyone who puts on clothes in the morning. This means you.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE 2050 GROUP