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Solutions to the fast fashion industry problem

Identify how the film portrays each idea/issue

- The documentary portrays the factories/sweatshops working for fast fashion industry as non - ethical as the fast fashion industry exploits these garment workers while presenting it as a problem. The True Cost explores the possible solutions to this problem, suggesting that there are good alternatives to the poor working condition that the garment workers have

List the technical aspects and techniques used to convey the idea/issue

The documentary uses interviews and actuality footage to portray this idea. Safia Minney, the founder and CEO of People Tree was interviewed and filmed. The films uses this footage to demonstrate and explore the purpose of People Tree and display the differences between clothing brands such as H&M and People Tree. The actuality footage of Safia’s work shows her dedication to provide alternative for the problem of fast fashion industry.

Identify how the viewer is positioned/encouraged to view the idea/issue

The audience is positioned to agree with the solutions portrayed. The solution to the problem presented is seen as a “light a dark tunnel”. The techniques used present a somewhat good feeling as it shows the “good” in the world, showing that there is a possible solution to the problem of the fashion industry. The audience is encouraged to become an activist on the situation or have at least be aware of the clothes they buy.​

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List each idea/issue:

Economic system - capitalism

Identify how the firm portrays each idea/issue:

In The True Cost, it is presented how the Fast Fashion industry is driven by greed to gain profit through a way that is completely favourable for the industry. This is thought to be because of the capitalism and ideologies that have deeply made roots within the modern society after years development.

List each technical aspects and techniques used to convey the idea/issue:

The film has used mainly interviews to convey how capitalism and consumerism came to be as it is now and the issue of both ideologies. First, in the interview with Richard D. Wolff, he commented on how the economic system has never been criticised and that caused the system to stay as it is without any reforms. “Capitalism couldn’t be questioned.” Now is the time the system needs to be reviewed. Next, the author of ‘Stitched Up’, Tansy Hoskins briefly explains the nature of capitalism, ‘the main thing you have to do is to gain profit’. In order to do that, competition between the industries to get lower labour conditions will increase. She even directly said, ‘capitalism is why the fashion industry is as of today’.

Identify how the viewers is positioned/encouraged to respond to each idea/issue:

The viewers are encouraged to think, know, or reconfirm about the concept of today’s economy and what should be changed in terms of ideology. In detail, the viewers are encouraged to think about what is capitalism and how that it is going to far.

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List each idea/issue

Ignorance

Identify how the film portrays each idea/issue

The film portrays the issue of ignorance within the fashion industry; the fashion industries are shown to be concerned with maximising their profits while minimising the costs of production, producing clothes at the cheapest price. However they ignored the impact of cheap clothing on the suppliers (workers), thus the costs are not accounted for making the clothes.

List the technical aspects and techniques used to convey the idea/issue

The documentary uses interview footages to present the issue of ignorance. In the ‘True Cost’, an employee who worked in one of the garment factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Shima, was interviewed. Shima is the president of the group of workers at the factory she works at, they had previously reported about the poor condition of the factory (cracked walls) and had requested to get it repaired but instead the employers responded by beating the employees and were forced to continue their work. Multiple articles and news was used to show the outcome of employers ignoring the poor work condition that resulted to the deaths of many employees as the factory collapses.

Identify how the viewer is positioned/encouraged to respond to each idea/issue

The viewers are positioned to respond empathetically to Shima and the rest of the employees who were physically abused for requesting better working conditions. We feel sympathy for the many workers who died due to the ignorance of their employers to fix these issues as the fashion industries provide cheap clothing to their consumers the cost of production would decrease and the suppliers receive lower wages. Hence in order to cut costs they ignore the working conditions of their employees and the huge corporations benefit from the profits at the costs of human rights.

List each idea/issue

Health issues

Identify how the film portrays each idea/issue

The documentary presents the issue of health issues caused by the production of the cheap clothing, which has a negative impact towards the workers of the garment factories in Bangladesh and the residents who resides near these factories. However the fashion industry denies and ignores the fact that these diseases were caused by the production of the clothing.

List the technical aspects and techniques used to convey the idea/issue

The documentary shows footages of places like Bangladesh that produces leathers and the impact of the production leather towards the environment. The production releases chemicals into the lakes and swamps that the residents rely on for the source of water for consumption. Food such as crops and vegetables are also affected by the pollution in the water as the soil absorbs the polluted water, thus the consumption of food and water causes diseases such as cancer and the residents are at risks of cancer as well as the leather workers.

Identify how the viewer is positioned/encouraged to respond to each idea/issue

The viewers are encouraged to respond to the health issues that are apparent due to the production of clothing by fashion industries. Many villagers are born with some sort of disease may it be some kind of skin disease or cancer, the documentary presented the statistics that one 20% - 50% of the leather workers are at risk of cancer. The viewers feel sympathetic towards these people as they not only receive low wages from the fashion industry itself but it also affects their health, this includes people who are not involved with the leather factories.

List each idea/issue

Charity Clothes

Identify how the film portrays each idea/issue

The idea of charity clothes has been portrayed in the documentary as consumers believe that they are doing a ‘good deed’ by giving away their used clothing to the third world countries and that they are saving the environment by ‘recycling’ their clothes, but in reality these consumers are destroying the fashion industry in developing countries.

List the technical aspects and techniques used to convey the idea/issue

The documentary presents the reality of the so-called ‘charity clothes’ which is originally used to help the developing countries but in fact these clothes are destroying other economies. In the documentary, people from the third world countries were interviewed to show their opinions on the clothes they received from America, which was supposedly to aid them, but in fact it’s destroying the domestic businesses.

Identify how the viewer is positioned/encouraged to respond to each idea/issue

The viewer is encouraged to see the reality of the impact of ‘charity clothing’, around more than 50% of the clothing given to charity are not selected to be sold in the stores, and thus they end up being ‘dumped’ overseas. So instead of providing help to developing to countries, these clothes are killing the fashion industries in the third world countries as consumers are receiving clothing for free there is no need to purchase clothes.

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Ideas explored:
— scrutinises the business of fast fashion
— greed
— fear
— power
— poverty
— environmental degradation
— sustainability
— human rights and the cost of human lives and suffering
— globalisation
— oppression vs privilege

The galvanising documentary The True Cost examines the tangible socioeconomic relationship between the privileged and the oppressed. Through the use of dialogue specifically a personal anecdote, the audience can see how, we, the white culture are ignorant to the ‘true cost’ of fashion. With the increasing demand for “fast fashion”, a trend that provides first world countries with cheap clothing, countless garment workers are just surviving off only $10 a month. The documentary follows a young mother, Shima, who has experienced abuse and severe ill treatment when working in a sweat shop in Dhaka. Her personal anecdote into the camera portrayed how after partitioning for a better work place “managers locked the door” and “30-40 staff attacked us…bang[ing] our heads on the walls”. This evokes empathy and horror from the audience after realising how severe fast fashion has impacted those in third world countries. Thereafter, guilt of consumption is inflicted on the viewer and it positions them to rethink about where their clothes come from and the sacrificed humanity for our own superficial benefits. (add linking sentence to finish para)

Andrew Morgan’s film The True Cost demonstrates not only the businesses’ attitude towards profit over exploitation but also the audiences. The structure of the documentary, from first blaming the capital industries about the clothes and the making of those clothes, to conveying the solutions to these problems portray how they are keeping a ‘blind eye’ to the suffering of others less fortunate than them. When the documentary views a conference about the exploitation of garment workers, the audience is presented with H&M’s representative. Her answers to the fair trade executive is portrayed as inadequate, especially when the lady claims that she can “show you the results” for how the lowest pay rate for workers is sufficient enough for them to live off. This positions the audience to scrutinise the big cooperations for abusing their power while others undergo suffering. In this film not only are businesses being blamed for abusing their power but the audience is being questioned about it as well. Towards the end the narrator asks “or we will continue to turning a blind eye?” This question invades and scrutinises the audience, positioning them to feel guilty. Therefore the real question the documentary is asking is not will we continue to ignore the abuse but also what are we going to do about it?

The documentary, The True Cost, provides the audience with the devastating environmental problems that are arising as a result of producers looking only to better their profits and the health issues that come with it. The blunt truth is that a higher rate of productivity comes at the cost of our natural world, which is shown with  footage of polluted third world manufacturing countries and anecdotes of farmers who produce to please increased demand. The documentary shocks the audience when it reveals that “the fashion industry is the number two polluting industry, second to oil.” The images following unveil the outcome of this reality; residents of these polluted water sources and environments suffer from jaundice, dermatitis and more while the water sources are lavished with chromium. The effect is furthered by an interview with a father who says “all savings are used for medical treatment,” as it is becoming increasingly hard to prevent becoming diagnosed with disease. The rebarbative problem does not stop at the production of clothes alone; it is also evident in the genetically modified cotton plants that have become compulsory for a better yield of supply. The exposure to the genetically modified plants caused the death of a farmer, leaving his widow to say “organic was no longer important, it was imperative.”. The documentary addresses the environmental issues and health cats that arise from the selfishness of producers and shocks the audience with the reality of it all.

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Ideas and issues explored in The True Cost

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Ideas and issues explored in The True Cost

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Anuj Amlani

- Worker exploitation – Low wages, overworking, poor working conditions

- Environmental issues – pollution, resources running out e.g. land

- Health issues – chemicals cause medical conditions such as, tumor

Write a statement for each about what the documentary says about the idea

Worker Exploitation

In the fashion industry workers are underpaid and due to ‘fast fashion’ and they are made to work longer hours.

Founder of the 37,000-member Awaj Foundation, which fights for labour rights in Bangladeshsays, "They have higher production targets. If they cannot fulfil them they have to work extra hours but with no overtime. It is very tough; they cannot go for toilet breaks or to drink water. They become sick. They are getting the minimum wage as per legal requirements but they are not getting a living wage”.

Environmental issues

The environmental damage is catastrophic in Bangladesh. This includes huge landfills, water pollution, toxic waste and chemical poisoning. Leather companies are the main cause for pollution. Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world after the oil industry. Resources such as, land are running out. Fifty million litres of toxic waste water pour into the lakes.

Health Issues

Health issues such as Jaundice is caused due to the chromium that is disposed in the lakes.

Write a statement about the techniques used to portray the issue

Throughout the documentary the issues are portrayed through interviews with activists, specialists or victims who have some sought of association with the issues caused due to the making of clothes.

Write a statement about how the audience is positioned

The audience may be aware of the issues that take place due to the production of clothes however, may not have realized the extent to which the issues have gotten worse with time. For example, the death of 1,110 people.

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by Cale and Brian or "Brale" <3
Issue/ idea 1/3: Corruption
Through news reports, interviews, archival footage and, actuality footage, the film shows corruption as a wide spread issue throughout the fashion industry that leads to exploitation of workers, the abandonment of safety protocols, the corruption of developing country’s governments,  and the bribery of members of the US Congress in the pursuit of profit. This leads to the deaths of hundreds of workers each year and Cambodian troops opening fire with live ammunition on their own countrymen who simply want a higher minimum wage.

The film uses interviews with people such as Kate Ball-Young, who is the former sourcing manager for Joe Fresh (a company which is connected to the Rana Plaza Disaster), and Helena Hamersson, the head of sustainability for H&M, to show how corruption is widespread within clothes companies. The film also uses interviews with people such as Barbara Briggs, who attempted to submit a bill to Congress in order to ensure fair work conditions in developing countries only to be knocked back by Congress who was persuaded by big countries to not put it through on the proviso that it was against free trade.

Actuality footage from a Cambodian strike turned violent is used to portray how corruption is rife in developing countries as they struggle to maintain company’s request for low prices.

The viewer is encouraged to be shocked as they are shown how widespread corruption is in their supposedly pure society. Corruption is looked down in Western countries such as the US, so this exposé is intended to surprise the viewer.

Issue/ Idea 2/3: Environmental Impacts

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by Ms. Underwood & no one else (contributors)

List each idea/issue
E.g. Human Rights
Identify how the film portrays each idea/issue
The True Cost demonstrates how the fast fashion industry is driven by large corporations and their desire to maximise profits. This leads to the exploitation of many, particularly female, garment workers in developing countries all over the world.
List the technical aspects and techniques used to convey the idea/issue
Interviews, actuality and archival footage are used to present this issue. One woman in particular, Shima, a garment worker from Dhaka, Bangladesh is followed closely as she makes the journey to leave her daughter with family members as she cannot care for her and maintain her work in the factory in Dhaka. During an emotional interview Shima describes the clothing as being "made by the blood" of garment workers.
Identify how the viewer is positioned/encouraged to respond to each idea/issue
As viewers we are positioned to respond emotionally as Shima must leave her daughter for very long periods of time, sometimes seeing her only once a year. We feel empathy for her as her low paid factory job simply provides cheap, poor quality clothing for Westerners and lines the pockets of wealthy corporate shareholders. Shima herself receives very little for the sacrifices she is making.