Educational Media Reviews Online

Think you’re environmentally conscious? You might need to think again. Shopping at the bookstore on Main Street, eating organic produce, and even driving a hybrid car isn’t enough. This film teaches us that to completely avoid contributing to industries that degrade human health and destroy local landscapes, we must be discriminating in our choice of clothing as well.

Toxic chemicals are used throughout the global production, processing, and distribution of many textiles. From supposedly organic cotton growers in India that employ members of the underclass to spray pesticides on their crops, to tanning and dyeing factories in China and Bangladesh with horribly unsafe working conditions, to shipping containers that arrive in Germany exuding toxic chloro-organic compounds, the chain of reprehensible practices is long. What’s worse is that the chain leads directly to first-world demand for fashion like leather boots, sand-blasted jeans and black lingerie.

The strength of this film comes not from its narrative but from its images of factory and farm work in China, India and Bangladesh. Investigations into chemical usage are lightweight (the viewer can’t help but wish that a Michael Moore-type director had been in the factories to pursue a more challenging line of questions). Connections between first-world consumers and third-world laborers are understandable yet understated, leaving a scattered impression of people and places around the world.

It’s important to note that this film is told entirely from a European perspective. No mention is made of U.S. companies and import regulations; this could either be a good jumping off point for student research, or it could distance students from the content. The message is important and eye-opening, so it is recommended with reservations for high school through adult audiences.