What is the REAL "True Cost" of your Clothing
What goes on behind the scenes to your clothes? Do you think a machine does all the work for you? Do think humans do all the work for you? Do you think it's both humans and machines? Or humans, machines, and the enviroment? The answer is humans, machines, and the enviroment. A lot of history is in your clothing. On Tuesday, July 21, 2015, Profit for Progress watched a movie called "True Cost." This movie could change the way you think of your clothes, what you buy, and how you think of fashion forever.
Now you're probably wondering really what goes on behind the scenes of your clothes? Depending on where your clothes are made, donated clothes are then shiped to (example) China. Then they rip off all the buttons or zippers. They spin the cloth into thread with a machine then made into clothes from there. The cloth making is made by humans though. Under paid garment workers. Threatened and beaten up.
Not too long ago, the Rana Plaza fell down. An eight story building killing hundrends of people. A factory where are clothes are made in Bangladesh. The day before the accident, a pilar cracked in the building. The workers complaind and the manager just threatened them that if they didn't keep working the next day, he wouldn't pay them for their hard work. So, they kept working. And, over 1000 people died the next day. Families crying to see if there loved ones had survived the tradgedy.
There were riots of garment workers of a pay raise. But the police wouldn't budge. They need to be paid too. Unfortunetly, a man was beaten to death and suffured at night. Something needs to be done about this. But nothing is. Also, most of are clothing waste is going to waste. Like scraps. And the pollution in the air and the waste from the factories that flow in the water. People have no choice but to drink the water. They get cancer, could lead to birth defects, and more. This is harm to the enviroment and humans.
What are the wadges of these people? It varies from $0.01 a day- $172 a day. Can they support their family? Can they afford food and shelter? Do you think they should be paid fairly? No matter what your answer is, at least you are consious of this world problem. But still, think about it.
by Allena