Fashion: the price people pay
Guest blogger Sandra Stafford considers the human and environmental costs of the fashion industry as seen through the eyes of documentary film makers in the twenty-first century.
I’ve always been a lover of documentaries. Anyone who knows me knows that. Sadly, the tales in the documentaries below are not always happy and uplifting. Indeed, they reveal the tragic human and environmental truths about some facets of fashion. If you’re reading this, it probably means you already have a vested interest in pre-loved. And if you select any of these titles to watch, the content may continue to persuade you that pre-loved is a great choice for your wardrobe and perhaps your conscience.
So (to completely misquote Bette Davis in Sunset Boulevard): Buckle up (this is not the jolliest of reads) … we’re in for a short alphabetically ordered and sometimes bumpy ride! I’ve added a ‘takeaway’ for each film, but please be aware that these are based on when the film was made. Some things – fingers crossed – may hopefully be changing.
Cotton Road (2014)
Cotton travels thousands of miles from its place of growth to its place of transformation by cheap labour. This form of globalised labour is explained more fully by the chain of people who are part of it.
TAKEAWAY: The supply chain of clothing is complex and the items we buy are often made nowhere near the country we buy them in.
River Blue (2017)
Mark Angelou, a conservationist and paddler, journeys for three years around the world’s rivers to explore the impacts of pollution during the production of clothing.
TAKEWAY: The fashion industry is potentially poisoning our rivers with toxic waste.
Slay (2022)
Filmmaker Rebecca Cappelli travels five continents in order to expose the cruelties and lies that some fashion brands might rather keep hidden.
TAKEAWAY: Animals can be slaughtered in order to produce some items of clothing and accessories.
Slowing Down Fast Fashion (2016)
Alex James, he of Blur fame and now cheese-maker extraordinaire, fronts a documentary that examines the human and environmental costs of fashion, and how we might be turning to ways of slowing down those costs.
TAKEAWAY: The amount of fashion items discarded (mainly to landfill) has been doubling each year.
Tears in the Fabric (2014)
The Rainbow Collective, who make documentary films that focus on human and social rights, look at the tragedy of a garment factory collapse through the personal stories of an affected family.
TAKEWAY: Lack of safety in factories and garment workshops comes at an unacceptable and intolerable loss of life.
The Machinists (2012)
A detailed look at the stories of a small number of young factory-worker women that, in turn, exposes some unpalatable costs in relation to cheap clothing.
TAKEAWAY: The struggle to stand against injustice in garment manufacturing industries takes great courage, personal sacrifice, and bravery.
The True Cost (2015)
An uncomfortable assessment of many aspects of the fashion industry – including low wages for many workers, poor work conditions, and environmental pollution and contamination – all in the context of global capitalism.
TAKEWAY: Workers rights and safety, along with environmental costs, are often ignored, despite the huge profits made within the fashion industry.
UDITA (2015)
The Rainbow Collective draw on two previously mentioned documentaries – The Machinists and Tears in the Fabric – with additional scenes as women unite to create better working conditions. This documentary spans five years of loss, struggle and mass mobilisation to fight for a better means of living.
TAKEWAY: Loss of life in any workplace is totally unacceptable and workers have to struggle hard to get their voices heard.
Unravel (2016)
How a small group of garment recyclers in India reclaim our fashion waste, turning it into usable yarn. You may be surprised at how some of these ingenious recyclers view us Westerners!
TAKEAWAY: We, in the West, could do more to recycle and re-use.
Is it all bad?
There’s no doubt that some of the above makes pretty grim viewing. But is the fashion industry always this bad? Is anything happening to address some of these issues, and if so who are those drivers for change? Hopefully our final film ends this list with a more optimistic view of the fashion future.
Fashion Reimagined (2023)
How fashion designer Amy Powney, raised within a family background of environmental activism, sets about creating a completely sustainable and ethical fashion collection.
TAKEWAY: It’s important and useful to make a personal commitment to think deeply about what we use and wear, where those things come from, and how we can consider their impact (positive as well as negative) on our environment and the people who live and work in it. We, too, can take small actions that contribute towards making a difference.
We’d love to know your thoughts and comments on any of these films and their contents. And, of course, we’d love your suggestions for other films we will inevitably have missed in such a short list. Drop us a message below … And, as if the clue isn’t in the name, Trash Chic offers a range of pre-loved clothing, carefully sourced, to hopefully make its own small positive fashion contribution that counts.
Sandra Stafford is an author, editor and long-time Trash Chic customer. To view TC’s range of preloved/vintage/retro clothing, return to the Shop and take a look at some of the fabulous items on offer.
