Green News & Events

Models Kickstart for a Living Wage

Most reality shows tend to focus on materialism. But “Sweatshop: Dead Cheap Fashion” flipped that paradigm when it sent two Norwegian models to Cambodia to explore what it was like to work in a sweatshop without a living wage.

After the film premiered in April of last year on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster, H&M filed a complaint to Norwegian Press Complaints Commission claiming the show was not representative of the company’s social responsibility policy.

The protest was denied, and “Sweatshop: Dead Cheap Fashion” logged nearly eight million viewers and nabbed a coveted Norwegian media award. Now teen models Frida and Anniken are working to Kickstarter the second season and return to Cambodia to fight for a living wage. As a picture is worth a thousand words, take a quick look at this promo:

Compelling, yes? And how about this analysis from their Kickstarter page, which shows that a 90-cent bump in retail price could represent a 300% increase in a fair trade living wage for workers.

living wage analysis of sweatshop labor chart

If that doesn’t sell you on choosing fair trade fashion, as well as consuming less and sharing more, I don’t know what will.

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