Summary Of The Documentary The True Cost

The Netflix documentary The True Cost explores the true cost of our fashion industry, in particular fast fashion. Fast fashion can be described as fashion that moves very quickly from the runway to the store shelves. Traditionally, the fashion industry had two seasons a year, now there’s over fifty-two. Virtually every week we have new lines and ranges coming out for incredibly low prices, leading to discarding clothing regularly. As bad as the environmental impact fast fashion can have on the world, the humanitarian issue is of even greater concern. Many consumers, myself included, are suckers for fast, cheap, and cute fashion. Most times I will pick up an item and not think twice about the true cost. Where the item was made, and by who, was rarely, if ever a concern of mine. “Inefficient production practices and the exploitation of workers in developing countries with capital-friendly labor laws allow these companies to produce clothing on a mass scale and sell them at

Poor working conditions, long hours and extremely low pay is a recipe for disaster and that’s exactly what happened in 2013. On April 24th 2013 the Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed killing approximately 1,134 people. This was the largest garment-factory accident in history, as well as the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history. Cracks had been found in the foundation of the building and several other shops in the building had closed but the garment factory remained open. “Survivors say workers were forced to go inside the building, even though a visible crack was forming” (Zarroli, Jim). The owners of this garment factory viewed clothing and money as more important than the humans working in the factory. Fast fashion is also affecting people by being detrimental to our environment as the documentary