{"id":157722,"date":"2015-06-22T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T05:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion\/"},"modified":"2021-08-12T13:42:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T13:42:48","slug":"the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"'The True Cost' of Fast Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It was high time that a documentary film was released investigating the harmful effects of fast fashion on society\u00a0and the ailing planet. <em><strong>The True Cost<\/strong><\/em>, directed by Andrew Morgan, had its US premiere last week at the Lincoln Centre in New York with a bevy of all-important fashion people in attendance. The documentary is a searing investigation into the disastrous consequences of unbridled Western consumerism. The film candidly portrays our unabashed consumption with chaotic scenes of Black Friday shoppers in America, intersected with the lying bodies of the 1,000 plus workers killed at the factory collapse in Rana Plaza two years ago. It is not for the faint of heart, but is is for anyone who\u2019s ever bought a piece of clothing from the likes of Zara, Forever 21 or H&amp;M. Sadly, probably about 90% of all consumers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">You will see how kids in India are suffering from the impact of pesticides used to protect the cotton we wear on our backs (pesticides also doing damage in our own society, in Texas for instance); how workers rebelling in Cambodia are brutally sanctioned by the police or even how a single mother in Bangladesh is severely beaten by her employers for trying to organise a legal trade union. The film crew were reportedly always on the verge of danger while filming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Resolute eco-fashion activist, Livia Firth (incidentally Colin Firth\u2019s wife), is the executive producer of the film. She has been at the forefront of the fashion sustainability campaign for years, along with British designer Stella McCartney. Interviewed during the premiere, Firth said, <em>\u201cWe are sold this myth that to buy a dress for under $10 is democratic\u2014but it\u2019s democratic for who? We discard faster and faster, and that is how the consumer becomes poorer and poorer. Two of the 10 richest men in the world are the owners of Zara and H&amp;M. I think it says a lot about how they make their money.\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">She went on, <em>\u201cEven if you look at fast fashion only in terms of business, the business model is finite. Fast fashion depletes the earth\u2019s resources and uses slave labor all over the world. Eventually the resources will deplete, the profit margins will shrink, and there will be revolutions in the streets. If you are a smart businessman, you would address those issues today.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21668\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21668\" class=\"wp-image-21668 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/livia-colinfirth.jpg\" alt=\"Livia and Colin Firth\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-21668\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Livia and Colin Firth at the London Premiere of 'The True Cost'<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>The True Cost<\/strong>\u2019s shock factor almost lies in the facts and figures you learn along the way about the fashion industry:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">- 80 million pieces of clothing are sold every year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">- 1 out of every 6 individuals on the planet somehow works in the fashion industry (probably not designing as you can imagine).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">- In the 1960s, 95% of clothes sold in America were made there compared to 97% of US clothes now being produced abroad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">- And the most shocking of all, fashion, a $2.5 trillion industry, is the second most polluting sector in the world behind\u00a0oil. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The film premiere gathered\u00a0actors and fashion industry celebrities with the likes of Isabella Rosellini, Anne Hathaway and her husband, Julia Garner and most importantly Anna Wintour, who watched imperviously behind her signature sunglasses. One can only wonder what she will make of the film and if the high-end labels\u00a0that\u00a0somehow feel less concerned about the plight of fast fashion, will<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0d<\/span>ecide to finally speak up and take some of the responsibility. At the end of the day, editors, buyers and the press are all of the people who can make a difference, not simply governments and lobbyists. In response to the criticism that it is easier for moneyed people to buy into sustainable fashion, the film\u2019s motto seems to be that more clothes and over-possessing as a whole is not the answer to human gratification. As Vivienne Westwood provocatively\u2014 but rightly\u2014once said, <em>\u201cBuy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Don't invest in fashion, but invest in the world.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Director Andrew Morgan, who took on activism after hearing of the news of the factory disaster in Bangladesh, said that the aim of the film was never to trigger\u00a0a revolution or try to lay blame. Morgan realises that actually making a change could take years, even decades, but what he really wants is for people to start a conversation, to be aware of where their clothes come from. After all, how many times do we stop and think, \u201cWho makes my clothes?\u201d Awareness\u00a0is the first step towards change.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The True Cost<\/em>\u00a0is available on iTunes and Amazon and will premiere on Netflix on June 29. To watch the trailer, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NDx711ibD1M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":126693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9763,6],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;The True Cost&#039; of Fast Fashion - TheIndustry.fashion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It was high time that a documentary film was released investigating the harmful effects of fast fashion on society\u00a0and the ailing planet. 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