The True Cost: The Horrific Truth Behind Fashion Industry

Abstract

After watching The True Cost, the knowledge I have obtained is that it’s evident that the success of major clothing brands are fueled by low-level workers from developing countries. These workers are suffering at the expense of their employers and due to the low cost of production, the top fashion companies have strived and developed production sites on those developing countries. However, labor laws and employee rights issues in these areas are not followed and the working conditions are oppressive, and there are a large number of people suffer in poor working conditions.

It is these people that pay the real price of fast fashion. Rather than focus on buying brands from these top companies, it is a high time for consumers to switch to lower-level companies or self-made clothes. Our purchasing behavior should be informed appropriately. By changing how we select and buy clothing, we can participate in reducing the adverse impacts of the top companies on people.

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The fast fashion industry is growing at an alarming rate as people rush into new clothing trends to march the changes in the sector. There is evidence that large clothing companies such as Zara, H&M, GAP and Fast Retailing are reporting record-breaking sales every year. When you go shopping, affordable clothes are in abundances – From $3.99 T-shirts to $6.99 skinny jeans. Ironically, most of these inexpensive clothes are sold from the top brands in the market. Why is this the case? As we continue to fill our closets with new and emerging trends in the market, who really pays the price for these clothes? The answers to these questions can be found in the documentary The True Cost by Andrew Morgan in 2015.

The film exposes the adverse impacts of the fashion industry on people and the environment. While we fill our closets with trending clothes, a large number of people in the developing countries are paying the price. Thus, after watching the film, I will help in making a difference by changing my clothing purchasing behavior. The fact growing clothing industry hurts people in developing countries and environment. Thus, you must change your clothing purchasing behavior to focus more on tailor-made clothing by local and smaller brands.

Companies in the clothing industry are growing at a fast rate. It is common to hear that most of the top clothing companies are performing extraordinarily in the market. These companies report groundbreaking sales and revenues each financial year. Companies such as H&M are opening new stores in new countries with the wake of every dawn. The success of these companies is not based on their ability to perform better in the industry but is rooted in their ability to maintain low costs of production. Almost all of the products sold by these companies are made in factories located in developing countries. As evidence in The True Cost, while these companies are thriving workers and community members working in these companies’ production sites and factories are suffering. The impacts of these companies on the local communities and workers in the developing countries is adverse

In 2013, the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing over 1100 factor workers. Many employees in the factor suffer. There are no labor laws or human rights laws that protect these employees. As shown in the documentary, this is not something that worries their employers who focus more on profits, numbers and trends. In the video, the social and environmental problems faced by people in Bangladesh, slums of Dhaka and the cotton field in Texas are evidence of the adverse effects of the fast fashion industry on people. The suffering of workers in the fashion factories feeds that never-ending appetite for cheap clothing, which is core to the success of top brands in the fashion sector.

People must change their purchasing behavior as appropriate and shift from buying clothes from these top companies. It is high time we stop shopping from these top companies such as H&M, Zara, forever 21 among other because the real people paying the price for the success of these companies are peasant workers in the developing countries. I have to change my purchasing behavior and switch from these top brands to lesser companies who value humanity.

In conclusion, The True Cost is a reflection of the reality on the ground regarding the top companies in the fashion sector. People are suffering to support the industry. Rather than support such inhumanity, we should change our ways at a personal level by reviewing our purchasing patterns.

Reference

1. Morgan, A. (Director). (2015). The True Cost [Motion Picture].