After the Rana Plaza disaster

‘The True Cost’ documentary tallies global effect of cheap clothes

Canada Goose Jackets In the wake of the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed more than 1,100 garment factory workers, Los Angeles based filmmaker Andrew Morgan set out to make a documentary about the human and environmental cost of shopping at H Forever 21, Topshop, Zara and other stores associated with the $3 trillion fast fashion industry, in which stores official canada goose outlet receive trendy new merchandise on a daily basis. Canada Goose Jackets

Canada Goose sale The film, which opens May 29 in theaters, on video on demand and iTunes, was shot in 13 countries, from the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh, to the cotton fields near Lubbock, Texas. It includes interviews with fashion designers, factory workers and owners, cotton farmers, labor activists, academic experts on consumption, sustainability and more, canada goose outlet reviews to shine a light on the “perfectly engineered nightmare” that feeds shoppers’ insatiable appetites for cheap chic. Canada Goose sale

cheap canada goose uk “The day I read about the [collapse], I looked down and realized I had never thought about where clothes come canada goose outlet nyc from,” says Morgan, 28, who lives in Sherman Oaks. “When you grow up looking only at a store window and only thinking about your side of the equation, it leads to a very dangerous set of effects.” cheap canada goose uk

Canada Goose Parka He began doing research into the causes of the fast fashion problem. One of the first people he contacted was Livia Firth, creative director of London based sustainability brand consultancy Eco Age and founder of the Green Carpet Challenge (which encourages sustainable dressing on high profile red carpets to focus attention on the issue), who agreed to be an executive producer, as did British journalist Lucy Siegle, who has written about the environmental effect of the fashion industry. Canada Goose Parka

canada goose uk outlet The film comes on fast and furious with staggering statistics about the rise in consumption: canada goose factory outlet 80 billion pieces of clothing are purchased worldwide each year, which is 400{3373519a9739c452f08445ac9f56838f61e338d75366e3111395f72a0c38ddc6} more than a decade ago. Three out of four of the worst garment factory disasters in history happened in 2012 and 2013. And as the death toll increased, so did the profits. The year after the Rana Plaza disaster was goose outlet canada the fast fashion industry’s most profitable yet, and the world’s top four fast fashion brands Zara, H Fast Retailing (which owns Uniqlo) and Gap had sales in canada goose outlet 2014 of more than $72 billion, compared canada goose outlet black friday with $48 billion in 2013. canada goose uk outlet

canada goose black friday sale “Major fast fashion companies have become investment vehicles,” Morgan says. “These businesses canada goose outlet parka http://www.canadagoosejacketoutlett.com have been on a trajectory for more than five years of 15{3373519a9739c452f08445ac9f56838f61e338d75366e3111395f72a0c38ddc6} growth annually, which is incredible. H is opening a canada goose outlet in usa new store every day this year.” canada goose black friday canada goose outlet sale

canada goose coats The film does not place blame on any one retailer (Morgan reached out to several but wasn’t able to get any to comment), but all the major canada goose outlet uk sale labels are name checked in footage of runway shows, advertising and canada goose outlet toronto factory Black Friday sales, as well as YouTube shopping haul videos. canada goose coats

canada goose store Fueling the frenzy are cheaper prices, made possible because clothing production has been outsourced to countries such as Bangladesh, China and Cambodia, where wages are low, working conditions less regulated and factory disasters accepted as the cost of doing business. canada goose store

Canada Goose Coats On Sale The film puts a human face on how the world’s 40 million canada goose outlet sale garment workers are feeling the squeeze as developing countries, desperate for economic opportunity the business provides, fail to enforce wage and labor laws, while big fashion brands keep their hands clean. Canada Goose Coats On Sale

Canada Goose Online Morgan zeros in on canada goose outlet online uk Shima Akhter, 23, who moved from her local village to the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, at age 12 to work in the factories. canada goose outlet store Unable to afford child care, she is forced to leave her daughter behind to be raised by relatives. After the Rana Plaza disaster, Akhter was moved to start a union and submit a list of demands to her employer, which led to a violent altercation in which she and other workers were held behind locked doors in the factory and beaten. Canada Goose Online

uk canada goose outlet “One of canada goose outlet store uk the things I hope gets communicated in the film is that canada goose outlet new york city these women, at great risk to their own health and families, are starting to stand up and really fight for and claim basic dignity as human beings,” Morgan says. “I hope we can get behind them in their fight.” uk canada goose outlet

cheap Canada Goose As a consumer, don’t think you are doing your part to offset increased consumption by donating excess clothing to charity. Morgan dispels that myth, showing that while the average American discards 82 pounds of textile waste a year, only about 10{3373519a9739c452f08445ac9f56838f61e338d75366e3111395f72a0c38ddc6} of what’s donated gets canada goose black friday sale sold in thrift stores. The rest is dumped into landfills (“the dirty shadow of the fast fashion industry”) or into Third World countries like Haiti, where the castoffs could conceivably end up canada goose jacket outlet being worn by the very people who made them. cheap Canada Goose

canada goose factory sale “I almost wanted to overwhelm the viewer with just how enormous the issue is,” Morgan says. Mission accomplished. canada goose factory sale

uk canada goose 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 canada goose outlet uk Tree and California based Patagonia, which encourages its customers to canada goose outlet jackets buy less. uk canada goose

canada goose clearance Despite the grave environmental and human effects of fast fashion, which are laid out in great detail, the film suggests we could be on the canada goose outlet online verge of a canada goose outlet shop turning point. canada goose clearance

canada goose clearance sale “What we need now is a greater awareness of what’s a stake. It’s not just brainstorm time, because there has been pioneering already. To use a business term, now we’re ready to scale,” Morgan says. “You don’t have to love fashion any less. Celebrate the beauty and artistry of clothing and invest in things you really love and will wear and take care of a long time. to Paris and interviewing style leaders such as Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford and Donatella Versace. The world has been her runway since she was a little girl in New York City she was the one soaking in the street fashion, accessorizing her school uniform within an inch of expulsion and flaunting trademark pieces like red patent leather Mary Janes. Sheleft The Times in 2015 canada goose clearance sale.