The True Cost Analysis

The True Cost by Andrew Morgan is a film that explores the processes that led to the uproar of fast fashion. These changes within the fashion industry have drastically affected the manufacturing process of clothing. Moreover, fast fashion has had varying economic impacts both at the micro and macro-level. The structure of our global economy has driven fast fashion to new heights via consumptionism culture along with materialism. The labour management techniques that have organized manufacturers of the global south have proven to be important in sustaining the mass production of new clothing lines. Through the better understanding of these broader trends, perhaps there is a way to resolve the exploitation of these workers.

First, the fashion

Through techniques such as scientific management, lead firms have been able to fragment the production of one commodity into multiple steps to ensure accuracy and efficiency. This has been ideal for fast fashion, whereas materials for clothing can be manufactured in various areas of the globe, then the assembly of these materials into clothing can be performed in another region. The decisions that predicate where these materials are being produced and manufactured is typically based on the cost of production and labour regimes for certain countries. However, with massive exploitation occurring to workers of the global south, many believed this issue may pertain to race, class, and gender issues. In Bangladesh, there are 4 million garment workers; 85% of them are women. With the minimum wage being under $3 an hour, this extreme exploitation could be a racial, gendered issue. Although, neoliberalism ideals would say that everyone is treated equally in the market, the key within a capitalist global economy is to produce capital. With the main driving force being profit, large fashion companies are continuously in search of finding ways to reduce costs. Especially with a large number of these jobs being contracted out to other smaller firms, I believe this exploitation is not based on the premises of race, class or gender. Wherever there is a possibility for

Through free trade networks, Minney believes that creating sufficient and sustainable networks may entice consumer to purchase clothing from these brands to ensure that the work being performed to construct this clothing is humane and the workers are not exploited. Although morally this is a sound idea, without the direct motivation being profit, companies will continue to exploit workers in the global south. Not only do companies benefit from this exploitation, consumers benefit from the low costs of clothing currently in developed countries. Although there is an understanding of the forces that drive fast fashion, the economic impacts and management techniques that sustain fast fashion, if there is no vested interest for companies except profit, fast fashion will remain as the dominant trend