The True Cost

A primitivist stance in which the losers of their markets (film production, fashion, journalism) gang against what they call "big business". Meaning the workers in poor countries would be far better crouched in the rice paddy under the Sun, than having a wage. Yet somehow, the entitlements on which the Western losers live are NOT to be sent to the poor workers.

This is yet another refined argument for protectionism and closed borders.

It's really an eye opener to the secrets behind the clothing industry. In fact the western corporates and consumers have blood on their hands by choosing to stay ignorant about the clothing and food industry. It's sickening how these "happy commercials of lush beauty and nice clothes" are use to fool the world and making it worse and worse for out planet and third world people....SEE THIS AND THINK AGAIN!

Never ever will you buy your clothes without thinking about where it's coming from and what role it played in the environment and the workers behind these clothes. I hope people will start opening their eyes with this documentary

I live in Turkey and there are many "cheap" textile factory in terms of their work conditions and quality of their products. People buy more items than they actually need and this behaviour causes textile industry growing day by day.

Any kind of shoe production costs approximately 2$ - 5$ dollars, Any kind of t-shirt, sweater, shirt costs 1$ - 3$ dollars, Any kind of hat, sock, belt costs 0 - 1$ dollars,

Nike, Adidas, H&M, Zara, Pull & Bear, 21 Forever, Gucci, Berschka ect. doesn't matter where you buy your clothes, they are all produced very cheap and sold for five times more expensive than they worth.

Why do you pay extra money for famous brand logo?

Being minimalist is similar to being vegan & vegetarian and it means sacrificing luxury for the long term benefit.

I gave it a five since it exposes the true ugly and dark underside of the clothing industry. With all but the very high end clothing produced offshore in the West, a massive industry of unregulated, nonunion dangerous sweatshops in the lowest labor cost nations produces most of our clothing. Think of that next time you buy a 100 dollar shirt and see that it was made in Vietnam probably for about $2.00 cost.

However the movie takes a hard left turn in the second half. They have the requisite video segment from a Fox News talking-head about sweatshops and how they might really serve a purpose. Then they interview Marxist economic Richard Wolf who blames the problem on not on idiot consumers or corrupt governments in producer nations, but on capitalism and calls for a new system. What new system? Socialism of course. Every useful idiot academic these days is in love with socialism.

Capitalism is not the problem. It is brain dead materialistic consumers who turned shopping from necessity into a weekly hobby and became addicted to cheap overseas products. Generations X and Y who consume like fools. Look at the ages of those waiting in line on Black Friday and in front of an Apple Store when Tim Cook announces the newest $1200 iPhone. These are all younger Americans charging in to buy the products of sweatshops. Change their minds and you solve a great part of the problem. The other issue not addressed is the fault of the governments of the producer nations. No unions, labor laws, decent wages or environmental controls. The movie implies that these governments has no power against these corporations. Sure they do. This was the situation in the US 100+ years ago and we solved it. But somehow the third world is not at fault. In this film. The Western capitalists are at fault in the logic of the producers and writers. Worth watching with a critical eye.

"The True Cost" is a professionally-done documentary by Andrew Morgan which covers many of the multiple problems caused by America's current clothing gluttony. Going to thirteen separate countries, the viewers visually get a small taste of some of the devastation caused by "Fast Fashion", whether it is drenching of farmlands with pesticides and the resultant birth defects in India to the following of a Bangladesh single mother and garment worker who knew people in the Rana Plaza building collapse which claimed more than 1100 people. Although the topics are,at times, heavy and thought provoking, the overall tone of the documentary is neither gloomy nor preachy. "The True Cost" is an ambitious project that opens your eyes to many of the ills caused by our current economic policies and our addiction to spending. It is a great springboard for further discussions and movie projects. -Jack A