I was in a documentary watching type of mood and it was something that came up after I watched something else *which was also eyeopening and I'll probably write about later.
The description was, "the links between consumer pressure for low-cost high fashion and the meager existence of the sweatshop workers who produce those goods are explored"
now that may not sound very interesting, but I also got to see the little preview pics that scroll by when you are selecting something to watch on Netflix and I had just finished watching something else that made me have lots of feels, so I turned it on.
My brain is spinning so much, I hope I get to write out everything I'm feeling. I don't want this to turn into a research paper, although it easily could.
I recommend EVERYONE to watch this documentary. At the very least it will make you feel so blessed to live the lifestyle you do. I want to make sure I thank God every day that I live in America. Things are so hard on the rest of the world and we take almost everything for granted over here.
Something as simple as your clothes..... It's very important to you what you wear. You want to look nice, you want to be comfortable, and sometimes you want people to see how well you are doing in life by the brands you are wearing. It's all about how you will be perceived.
Did you know next to oil, the making of clothing is the 2nd most contaminating thing on the planet? CRAZY, I had no idea! You can see quite a bit of it in the documentary.
It's so important to look at the big picture. From the seeds that are harvested to make the cotton, and the pesticides sprayed on the seeds, how the pesticide effects the ground and the community that lives around it, to the crazy prices that people pay and the war for the companies to get the products for the best bargain, then the countries and companies that major factories select to develop clothing, how the workers are treated and the environment they live in, the struggles in their life, and then at the end of it all how these companies feel like they HAVE to do better every season. Make more money than last time, every time. The documentary touches base on all of these things. It really puts into perspective, who made my clothes? Who actually made it, what was the journey it took into being developed and look at how many clothes you have.
I'm just as guilty as the next person of buying something that I will only wear once or maybe never wear at all. In my defense and apart of my amazing frugality, I almost ALWAYS buy things on sale. I rarely every buy something that's full price. The first place I go in any store is to the clearance rack. But I have many things that I simply haven't worn before. It didn't fit right or look right. I rarely throw anything away. I like to give it family member or I drop clothes in a drop box once a year when I clean up my closet. But this film really brought to my attention a lot of things I just hadn't even thought of before.
Of course we have special occasion events and I won't put that out of my life totally but I will not buy something that I don't think I'm going to wear 30 times ever again. You don't have to look like a homeless person to make sure you are buying and wearing your clothes to their value.
It all starts with the consumer, or the customer. I'm not someone who has to hit the sales every single week or buying the latest clothes but it is important wether you are one of those people or not.
I'm not saying I think we should stop buying clothes, because the people do need jobs, but we need to be smarter about our buying. For the world and for the people in it. We don't need so much. Not something that's going to end up at a dump and just creating so much toxicity.
The documentary showed a woman who was a factory worker and had a daughter who had to live far away from her and with her family, because the mother couldn't afford to have her and she was trying her best be able to pay for school for her child so she can have a better life than what her mother has.
My heart aches for that woman. She's trying so hard for her child to have a good life but she rarely gets to see her.
I'm over here freaking out about leaving Luke to go to the grocery store alone. I can't imagine being away from my child. I'm so blessed, and I'm so sad for her. And for all of the people who have to send their child somewhere else so they can make a living. It's very sad.
The working condition of people in other countries is just sad. The living conditions are sad. It's something we know. And if you don't know, travel or simply watch a documentary. *I saw some pretty sad living conditions when I went on a cruise to Jamaica and it's not nearly as bad there as it is in Bangladesh. But his woman gets paid $40 a week. Her salary is $160 a month, US dollars equivalent. She's barely making it.
The major fashion companies don't hire these people, they talk about it in the documentary. But they do pay a certain amount to the business for the products and instead of haggling to get the cheapest business to make your clothing they should do something else. A change has to be made.
They pay $0.30 for a dress that they sell for $40. These companies are billionaires. It won't make much of a difference to pay a little more for the product, then the sweatshops can be in better conditions, the workers can get paid a little better. It's baby steps but again it starts with the consumer. We don't need them cranking out as many clothes as they are as fast as they are when it all winds up in a landfill somewhere. We don't need to be treating our ground like its a factory.
Simply, don't be wasteful and be mindful of the world. Don't take anything for granted.
I don't want to try to educate anyone on the film or the problems at hand. Watching it and going to the films website will do that for me.
I signed a petition on the website. It simply wanted first and last name, and email. We all have junk emails if you don't want to be bothered by it, I signed for my junk email and my primary email. I plan to follow this.
They hope to see a change by 2020.
I urge you to go watch the documentary if you haven't.
I'll link the website as well. You can get a ton of information. If you don't do anymore research than going to the website I strongly suggest you do so.
I doubt anyone could watch this and not want to make some kind of change.
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