True costs of the fashion industry

While clothing prices hit rock bottom, the human and environmental costs are sky rocketing in the multi-trillion dollar fashion industry, the Fairtrade Foundation reports. As a new film, The True Cost, about the human and environmental costs created by the fashion industry has just been released (in a limited theatrical release worldwide on 29 May, as well as on VOD, DVD and Blu Ray), the Fairtrade Foundation warns that we need to change the way we view fashion and reconnect with all the many people who work to bring us our clothes, starting with the cotton farmers. They are the ones who pay the real price.  (Picture: Screenshot of the True Cost website)

Over 60 per cent of the world’s cotton is produced by an estimated 100 million smallholder farmers. Of these, 90% are in developing countries and grow cotton on less than five hectares of land and are some of the poorest in the world. Up to 300 million people work in the cotton sector when family labour, farm labour and workers in ancillary services such as transportation, ginning, baling and storage are taken into account. Fairtrade cotton was launched to put the spotlight on these farmers who are often left invisible, neglected and poor at the end of a long and complex cotton supply chain. People Tree is a pioneer of Fair Trade and sustainable fashion. They actively support 4000 farmers and artisans through 50 Fair Trade producer groups, in six developing countries. Ten years ago People Tree launched the first clothing range to meet the Global Organic Textile Standard certified by the Soil Association in the so called developing world. The full article is available here.