Hello Everyone
I just watched a worthwhile documentary about the not so glamorous side of fashion, called China Blue. This film was released in 2007 in the U S (I know what your thinking.... real current). In spite of this, it is an intimate look at the life of little Jasmine, a factory worker. Jasmine is 14 years old who works at a denim jean factory. Jasmine leads us on a journey as we watch her struggle working day and night for pennies, so that we can buy our 20Th pair of jeans.
Directed by Micha X Paled, there appears to be some controversy about the validity of the film, from various user comments I came across online. That said, whether or not some scenes were staged or not, it is most likely a fairly accurate look at the manufacturing industry. How else can apparel buyers purchase jeans for under $5.00?
This movie was really hard to watch, but finding a solution is even harder. It's really difficult because part of me wants to turn extreme and say that I am going to boycott all brands that make their clothes in factories such as this one, but that is just not realistic. Especially because all of the brands that do pay their workers decent wages are significantly more expensive, which is not conducive to my student budget. Hopefully sometime soon the industry can work and fight to find a middle ground.----Hannah Paschal
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