The True Cost: a fashion documentary to make you think
Livia Firth and guest
I was deeply moved by the London premiere of The True Cost, this week. And not just because Colin Firth was on the red carpet. This documentary about fast fashion and the appalling impact it has on both garment factory workers and the environment, is upsetting and, at times, difficult to watch. Directed by Andrew Morgan and with executive producers Livia Firth, creative director of Eco-Age, and the Observer’s ethical columnist Lucy Siegle. The film focuses on the people behind fashion. One amazing woman called Shima, a 23-year-old single mother from Bangladesh, explains how she can’t live with her daughter because she has to work, and she has to work to give her daughter a better future. Shima started a union for the workers but when the owners of the factory found out, they were all beaten and punished. In spite of this, she remains incredibly upbeat, though when Shima breaks down discussing the working conditions, and the Rana Plaza disaster, it’s unbearable to watch.
Shima: The True Cost
There’s a wonderful cotton farmer from Texas called LaRhea Pepper, an advocate for organic farming who talks of the affect of GM crops and pesticides on the environment, as well as her own personal story. LaRhea’s husband grew up on a ‘chemically intensive farm in south Texas’ and died of a brain tumour aged 50. There’s an interview with her on The True Cost website here.
LaRhea Pepper
I was also really impressed by Dr Vandana Shiva; a trained physicist, environmental activist and author, opposed to globalization and Genetically Modified crops, who spoke eloquently on ecological and social issues. There’s a feature about her in the New Yorker.
Dr Vandana Shiva
At the start of the film, there’s a revolting scene where some young haul vloggers show off all the cheap tat they’ve just bought. It’s grotesque when you think about it, this model based on conspicuous consumption. I’m very conscious of how much blogging has changed since I started That’s Not My Age, seven years ago. How it’s turned into a business and is all about monetising and selling product, now. Which is fine because blogging takes a lot of time and effort, so why shouldn’t people make some money/ a career out of it? Though personally, all I ever really wanted to do was to write about style.
When I was a kid, fashion was more hand-me-down than throw-away. We didn’t have the money or the inclination to shop incessantly. I know that sounds a bit rich coming from a fashion journalist whose job may seem to promote the constant purchase of new stuff, but I would always encourage shopping responsibly, and as I say in Style Forever, ‘Don’t buy shit clothes.’
We all know that fast fashion pushes prices down and that if you pay a couple of quid for a t-shirt, someone further down the supply chain is being exploited. So, in that respect, The True Cost may be preaching to the converted, but it’s a film worth seeing and hopefully one that will make us all think before we buy.
Thank you to Eileen Fisher for inviting me to the premiere. Read more about the movie and watch a trailer HERE.
Discussion (31 Comments)
How does this movie reach the people that really need to see it? Those who watch it and who can afford to shop ethically will, but it’s not enough. I’ll share this link on fb, all we can do is be a voice, raise consciousness and put your money where your mouth is. Hope your slogan catches on!
Thank you for this Alison. Those young haul vloggers are nauseating, and making a lot of money doing it. It’s sad how disposable most women’s wardrobes have become. Fashion’s carbon footprint is horrific and the hardships these poor garment workers endure, unacceptable. I don’t buy shit clothes an abhor their impact on this world. I will see this movie and jump on my soap box about it.
Thanks again.Caroline says:
Another interesting article from The Guardian after the Rana Plaza fire .
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/06/ethical-high-street-clothes-supply-chain-bangladeshHello Alyson,
I’m looking forward to see this documentary and thank you to present your vision of it for us to know. Like you, Sara and Vix said it may not be easy to have the people that are consuming fast fashion to see it, but talking about it is a way to bring this issues to discussion. This line of business brought fashion to people that other way could not afford it, just like massive agricultural methods provide plenty of affordable food. But the costs for the workers, environment and quality of the products are visible and getting higher and higher. Like you pointed out, I believe there is a social-cultural phenomena there also: people are valuing to have more quantity instead of enjoying higher quality, even if the same amount of money is involved.
Have a nice weekend,Kathy says:
I remember as a child getting very few clothes, but what I did get was always well-made. Plus, I went to catholic school, so more often than not I was wearing a uniform. I had a sparse closet. Now I have a full closet, but my clothes are not the splendid creations I had growing up. I don’t think I have one item made in the US. Everything says Imported on it.
TNMA says:
Sarah/Vix – we were talking about that issue after the film. How can this film be seen more widely? It’s a tricky one. Be good if it was shown on TV. Shoppers need to consider the lives of the people who manufacture their clothes. And people who talk and write about fashion have a responsibility, too. At the end of the film Safia Minney the founder of People Tree says that she is sure we will see a significant change. I hope so.
Beth says:
The trade keeps moving factories to countries that allow more human exploitation than the last. Here in Southern California, the fashion industry provides 36% of the jobs, some of them highly skilled. Having said that, the manufacturers are paying higher hourly wages here than people in Bangladesh are earning. Jobs are obviously important to a region, and clothes are one of the few categories that everyone on Earth must have. Having said that, we all know that not everyone is into fashion for the sake of fashion. There has to be a way of approaching the discards and making it trendy and exciting to upcycle yesterday’s cast-offs into todays totes, patchwork jackets, interlining, etc. Saw some canvasses by Jenice Heo last year that were made from denim discards that were about to be shipped off to Asia to be turned into insulation for autos. Ms. Heo creates these art pieces that look like topographical maps from a distance, but she incorporates not only the raw edges, but elements like rivets, pockets, seams to make it obvious that these once were blue jeans.
Thank you for this review. I just finished watching the documentary. I have been following the issue and thought I wouldnt be moved when it started. But I did end up being angry by the end of it. Well made !
“My god we can do better than this”. The anger is much much needed !
I never commented here but I adore your blog. And cant wait to get my hands on your book. I hope you have a kindle version too.
– Archana.
I’m always careful about taking these documentaries as gospel although as presented here, this one appears to have a little more vetting than some other high profile documentaries I’ve seen with a strong agenda.
Nothing wrong with having an agenda but it can often blind zealots into omitting key facts, misrepresenting, or giving an unbalanced viewpoint. I suspect there will be some well financed self-serving investigations to challenge some of these assertions and it will be interesting to see how this holds up.
AW, you feature a lot of products here. Given how appalled you were, can we now assume that products you feature will not have been manufactured by exploited workers? I’m relatively new and didn’t know if you vet these products beforehand or what the TNMA policy is.catherine says:
It’s very difficult to get good quality clothes at any price point. The so called high end brands are also being produced in China, India etc. I doubt that they are any more ethically produced than the cheaper brands. Also since 2008 a lot of people no longer earn a living wage, they have to survive on minimum wage, especially outside of larger cities where jobs are still scarce and told they are lucky to have them. Having disposable income for clothing can be difficult. I think both of these
issues are of people being exploited by their employers and this is common practise worldwide. In relation to GM, I see the
”wonderfully inclusive EU” is backing down on it’s stringent policies and trying to introduce new policies which would give the decision back to individual countries. Shame on them. I don’t blame the UK for wanting to leave. They won’t give us back control over our fiscal policies though. I can’t wait for the Revolution!!! I do love your blog.GSL _ Vanessa Friedman in the NY Times is more critical of the director’s approach & unattributed statements:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/fashion/the-true-cost-a-different-kind-of-fashion-documentary.html?_r=0I have really only just started to add more products to my site and it is something I am conflicted about. As I mention in the post, when I started That’s Not My Age, I really only wanted to write about style, I never wanted to pimp out loads of product. I’m not making excuses, but fashion blogging has changed & this is route everyone is taking. This is something that I am figuring out at the moment. Good point about vetting products, I have to be completely honest and say that I don’t check but I do try to champion style as opposed to fast fashion. From now on I will keep a closer watch on this because I do not want to feature clothes made in sweatshops on That’s Not My Age.
tunie says:
If it were easier to check, that would help! But it’s a virtually hopeless project for a layperson – a couple years ago I naively tried to trace a garment to it’s factory with no success, naturally. Surely most clothing at the moment is produced under conditions the labels would not want publicized?
There is another documentary out recently on a related theme out there somewhere (just saw the link but it’s not coming up) that traces a garment through it’s manufacturing process.
Here are a couple links:
http://www.apparelsearch.com/human_rights.htm
http://www.apparelsearch.com/education/research/child_labor_clothing/child_labor.htm
http://www.apparelsearch.com/manufacturer_clothing_factory_directory.htm
I have been interested in the idea of sustainable fashion for a while now. There is an incredible professor at FIT named Sass Brown who showcases really talented and avant garde fashion designers who are at the forefront of sustainable design. She has a website called Eco Fashion Talk that is a great resource for anyone interested in this topic
http://www.ecofashiontalk.com.
Like yourself, I am completely into style and fashion but almost every garment (except staples like a white t) I wear on my my blog is recycled, gotten from consignment or vintage shops. This is a great issue for us to all keep talking about.Accidental Icon
http://www.accidentalicon.comWhile I thank you for bringing this film to our attention, and I thank you for your post about this, I still have mixed feelings about “fast” fashion. Here, in our America, we have millions of unemployed and underemployed people. Most of our clothing manufacturing is outsourced. It’s common knowledge. However, a great many people cannot afford the expensive clothing that isn’t manufactured by third-world citizens. It’s sad. It really is, but what is expected of people in this country who are not of the 1%? Our middle class used to be able to afford decent clothing–clothing made of cotton–and wool and other natural fabrics. Our middle class has dwindled–a great number barely eeking by on minimum wages. All they can afford IS fast fashion. I’m not pontificating nor am I trying to appear preachy. It just is a fact. Unless the clothing manufacturers stop outsourcing and bring all manufacturing back to the USA AND hire people to produce clothing AND hire them at a good and decent salary, fast fashion will continue.
Factory owners must be held accountable by a garment industry council, ideally an international one. Or do it cheaply by making factory addresses public, so they can be pelted with letters/emails of protest and demands for change. It will not take long to see radical reforms that are win win. I’m on a budget but I’d buy exclusively from a factory I knew had day care, living wages and healthy work hours.
Wow how tragic because we are so naive to what goes on behind the scenes . I have always been a proponent for organic farming and visit the local farmers market every chance I get, my children who are now young adults always were given organic whenever it was available. I hope the world steps up and we start educating everyone to what is possible if we open our eyes!
Rena says:
I went shopping with a friend once and recommend a pair of jeans for her to try on. I think they are around $150, made here in the US., but she was appalled, saying she never pays more than about $50 for her jeans. Well, I told her, it’s denim from a factory in NC, which pays its workers well, and it’s manufactured by a company in California, which pays its workers well. The pair you usually pick up at CostCo? Think about who makes them and what they were paid. Can’t have it both ways . . . Also, I love how popular consignment fashion has become. I’d say half my closet came from designer resale shops and sites.
I would love to see this film (and Mr Livia Firth), and I hope it gets widespread publicity. After hosting our 14-year-old granddaughter for two weeks (Yikes!), I felt very sad at her desire for brand labels and cheap fashion. She’s aware that I was wearing thrifted and hand-me-down clothes, but she and her friends are taken in by all the advertising that goes with consumer culture. This film should be shown in schools to give kids a perspective on the greedy corporate machine that they’re feeding.
Catherine – that’s an issue we were talking about after the film too. Are high-end brands any better? Agree with Tunie, it’s not that easy to uncover this information.
Cathe – I know and I agree with you. Lots of people can’t afford expensive clothing.
Lynn – thank you for the link, I will look into Sass Brown’s work.
Carole Walker says:
I am delighted that THE TRUE COST documentary has been given coverage here. The year after the Rana Plaza disaster was the fast-fashion industry’s most profitable yet, and the world top four fast-fashion brands – Zara , H&M, Fast Retailing (which owns Uniqlo) and Gap – had sales in 2014 of more than $72 billion, compared with $48 billion in 2013. Mr. Amancio Ortega, founder of ZARA, is now the world’s second richest man, surpassing even Warren Buffet. The 79 year old Spaniard is worth an estimated $71.5 billion. Yes, billion, is correct. The workers, mainly women, making the clothes for his company make a pittance and work under appalling conditions. Where is our anger? Our conscience? Our sense
of fairness?Fiona Sinclair says:
Nobody wants to buy a product which has been produced in a sweatshop and if that meant adding one or two pounds onto the average garment in the safe and certain knowledge that it had been produced ethically then I think most people would be happy to pay a little more. I try and avoid the cheapest clothing lines but am well aware mid range shops can be equally flawed. It also confuses me that this subject is raised on a site which details clothing companies. I really don’t know which brands are ‘good’ other than the few ethical clothing companies and their clothes cost a fortune. Perhaps tnma could provide a list of the better ones to help us choose – and not just the expensive high end brands!
Most women love clothes and fashion but nobody wants it at the expense of exploitation, surely.
Sobering subject on a good website.I will try my best, Fiona! In the meantime, I know M&S has a robust policy and Eileen Fisher too.
As a counterpoint to the fast-fashion offenders are several businesses that subscribe to another way of making clothing, including British fair-trade fashion brand PEOPLE TREE and California-based PATAGONIA, which encourages its customers to buy less.
Thank you Alison for your always inspiring blog posts.
I found the following excerpt from Alison’s blog about Helen Mirren which I think is a perfect commentary on the subject.
Do forget your luggage
Taking travelling light to a whole new level, Mirren once admitted that she only takes underwear on holiday: she heads straight to a charity shop on arrival to buy the rest of her holiday wardrobe, then drops it all off again before catching a flight home. No suitcase, no surcharge, donating to charity – this could be the single greatest budget-airline-defying travel plan. I can’t believe it hasn’t caught on.Hala says:
As a mother I empathize with Shima, the worker-activist from the documentary True Cost. She was ohyscially harmed for demanding better working conditions, and had to spearate from her daughter in order to keep her job. Of course when we shop more consciously and reduce the market of clothes made in sweat shops we pressure companies to change their labor policies. While this would help the cause of these workers, I wonder if there is also a way to reach Shima in particular and show her some financial support. It seems that a modest fundraising campaign would still make a big difference to her and her daughter’s future, and could reunite them as well.
jennifer says:
Late to this topic – however, I will make a point to download and watch this documentary.
And not to be insensitive – but I love Mrs. Firth’s blazer/jacket above with the leather trim!! Does this make me a terrible person to ask who this might be from? I could use it for San Francisco weather!
Thanks!!Meg says:
Just wanted to get this off my chest: the problem is not, in itself, cheap fashion, or low price garments. If retailers want to hook us with low price garments, so be it; that may even be a good business strategy. The problem is how workers are treated. That a garment sells for a so-called ‘low price’, doesn’t cause the problems mentioned, it is the routinely ruthless treatment of workers and the planet that cause the problems. Companies fail to invest in business in any way other than to accumulate profits. When making 18 billion in profits a year, selling low price garments is surely affordable business to H and M. It is clearly the so-called low price that attracts our buying – the ‘throw away, ‘just buy a new one’, ‘lots of clothes for me’ mindset is a viable commodity in some respects. What happens is that companies make no investment in business, they own no factories, have no staff directly employed by them, and they out-source, so they can have no real input into the standards of the workers that work for them indirectly. Also, they seek only profits and low costs, which, as the film shows, causes no end of problems for managers and workers. There are no standards in business, as I can see. None of these massive companies are proud to support workers, to develop communities, sponsor education, benefit the lives of others through business, or even produce responsibly and safely. It comes down to us to remember who we are and who other people are and to have no respect for those who tread on others to accumulate fortunes. Balzac; “Behind every great fortune, there is a crime.” I hope we don’t fall into the trap of believing that clothing production has to be expensive and we the consumer must pay more for our clothes, because that would be a lie. Good wages for all the garment workers indirectly working for H and M would not even come near 18 billion a year (not sure £ or $).
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I just got an email from the Eileen Fisher folks about this movie, urging people to see it. I do try to support clothing companies like Eileen Fisher and Everlane that are about transparency, corporate responsibility, non-exploitative labor practices, sustainability and minimizing environmental impact of clothing manufacturing.