I found out about this film when watching one of My Green Closet's favourites video. It was produced by the Clean Clothes Campaign Denmark in 2012 for the 'No More Excuses' campaign and looks at the workers in the textile factories in Cambodia.
Predominantly made up of young women who have travelled in from rural communities. They play a big role in bringing in an income for the Cambodian Government (calculated at around 4 billion US$), but earn a wage so small that after they've paid for rent and other necessities (including sending money to their families still in the country) they are left with only 1$ per day for food. This leads to the workers not getting enough calories during the day and there have been mass faintings occurring in these factories due to low blood sugar levels. If there are additional expenses they have to cover, such a doctor's charges, medicine or funerals, the workers are then forced to take out loans with very high interest rates.
The fashion industry makes a large profit every year, but this profit does not find its way to the factory workers, or even to the factory owners. The workers' wage only makes up 1.5% of the price we pay for an item of clothing, and the fashion industry relies on the fact that the Cambodian Government needs investments to ensure they get the lowest cost possible. With such a low percentage of the cost we pay they could easily double the workers wage without having a large impact on the price we pay or the profit brands make.
The film also covers the Cambodia Living Wage Tribunal that takes place in 2012 and the assessment the judges made that the worker could not live on the wage they were receiving and that to get a wage you can live on is a human right.
For anyone who has been looking at the fashion industry this short film will come as no surprise, but it's always good to be reminded of why it's so important to make ethical choices when buying clothes.
If you want to learn more about the work being carried out by the Clean Clothes Campaign or join the cause you can go to cleanclothes.org.
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