The True Cost – Fashion, Worker’s Rights, and the Environment With Rhian Kuhn, Samantha Maxwell, Amy Scott, and Tela Young

KENNESAW, Ga. (Nov 5, 2015) — This panel was a student led discussion about the harmful and unrealized effects that the fashion industry has on the environment as a whole. These six students showed clips from the documentary, “The True Cost,” which showed horrific instances of terrible working conditions that led to many deaths of textile workers and the landfills full of clothes in other countries that were harming the environment.

The discussion gave way to how many people did not even give a thought to where the cheap clothes they were buying were coming from. “Fast Fashion” was one of the segments that was directly related to a horrific incident in Bangladesh where the building collapsed and over one thousand workers were killed and others seriously injured. All in the name of more and cheaper clothing. Not only are the conditions terrible but the women in these jobs are being paid little to nothing as well as getting beaten for trying to organize unions. The ecofeminist students did an excellent job of making the entire group think about how they live their own lives and being more conscientious of where the clothes are coming from and being more aware in general of the global effects it has on women and the environment.

Student Review by Andrea Putala Focus Week 2015 Event: