How's your day going? Good? Well, I'm here to ruin your life.
Hat tip to Jezebel for bringing my attention to this trailer for a forthcoming documentary entitled “The True Cost,” which “pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?” As the trailer points out, it's (mainly) women in third-world countries who get paid pennies a day in horrific conditions to churn out your crappy H&M tennis shorts.
Statistics show that a large majority of our clothing is produced in overseas “sweatshops” — i.e. factories that violate labor laws and often employ children (these exist in the U.S. too, by the way). Andrew Morgan's film promises to shine a devastating light on this cruel underbelly of the $1 trillion global fashion industry and our addiction to “fast,” low-cost clothing (H&M, TopShop, et. al) with the help of interviewees including Stella McCartney and sustainable fashion advocate Livia Firth. I have no clue how the movie is, but it's an important issue that merits our outrage.
Untold misery in the trailer below. Happy Wednesday.
“The True Cost” will be in theaters and online May 29.