I was sitting in my bed, eating my usual pre-bedtime bowl of strawberries, and I just wanted to relax. So, I clicked on the Netflix icon, but instead of choosing my usual Midsomer Murders episode, I went to the documentaries. I am working with fashion right now, and so I decided why not watch one about it? So I clicked on "The True Cost", laid back in my five goose feathered pillows, with my bowl of fruit, and become more aware of my privilege than ever before. 

52 Fashion Season

The fashion system from our grandparents' era is merely a dot of what today's is. There are no longer four seasons of fashion (spring, summer, fall, winter), but every week these fast fashion companies come out with new clothing. They come out with it fast, so we can buy it fast, and they can make profit fast. But then someone has to make it fast too, and that someone is the one that is overlooked, and ignored, at the expense of profit and selfishness. 

We may not feel the true cost of what we buy, but they do. They live it because of our choices.

Garment Factories

The managers ignore the garment factory workers' pleas to fix the foundation. Most of which are ignored, which is how we have the factories collapse and thousands (THOUSANDS!!!) of people die. This is not just a question of fair wage, but one about human rights.

The documentary followed one garment worker in particular who decided to give up her daughter rather than take her to work and expose her to the harsh chemicals. She wanted a life for her daughter without the sickness, which she was currently living with. 

Indian Cotton Farmer

Every 30 minutes an Indian cotton farmer commits suicide because he cannot afford the staggering prices for seed and pesticide. This cotton needs to be produced cheaply as well in order to give you that $6.00 shift. The most common way they kill themselves is by going into their shed, and then eating the pesticide, leaving their distraught families behind, and the mega companies worry free. These companies have no connection to the farmers, besides a monetary one.

Materialism

"We communicate who we are through clothing. It is fundamentally a part of what we want to communicate about ourselves."  

After learning all of this, I am aware and conscious of what is happening, but also am trying to learn more about how I can help. I am building a solution online that combats fast fashion as we know it. 

As the quote above states, clothing is a big part of how we show ourselves. For me, now, it is not only a question of if my jeans and shirt match, but what else my clothing says. Does my fast fashion shirt say I  care about human rights?

The purpose is not to not buy from companies like F21 and H&M (although that would be the best solution), but to be more conscious. Don't support them. If you need a shirt, then buy one, and if you find a good quality one from F21, then buy it. But be aware of your consumerism, don't buy five and only wear them once. 

Although many do not view it as so, these garment workers devote their lives to creating clothing for us to wear. Let us respect our clothing choices, and more importantly, our fellow humans.