Join the Fashion Revolution! Harrogate Fair Trade Shop and Oxfam are hosting a FREE FILM EVENT on Wednesday 13th October. There will be two screenings of the acclaimed 2015  documentary ‘The True Cost’ that investigates all aspects of the garment industry and pulls back the curtain on the brutal business of fast fashion. Showings are at 2pm and 7pm but doors are open an hour earlier for browsing stalls and refreshments. 

VIEW TRAILER

‘Gut-wrenching and alarming’

Elle

Why

In 2019, UK consumers spent an all-time high of £61 billion on clothing. In the 10 years from 2009 to 2019 our spending on clothing increased by almost £17 billion and despite the impact of the pandemic, there’s no sign that our obsession for fast fashion is slowing down.

Most of this huge sum never reaches the pockets of garment factory workers or cotton farmers and they struggle to meet their basic needs or care for their families. What is the real cost of fashion and how can we make sure a fair price is being paid to the people doing the hard work?

We think you’ll find the film a bit of an eye-opener and we hope everyone takes away an understanding of what they can do to effect real change. Every single person has the power to make a difference. Please come along and find out how you can play your part. 

Climate Impact

It’s particularly timely this week because it’s our first Climate Action Festival (CAFé) in Harrogate! Coordinated by Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition it aims to help us learn how we can act now to limit damage from climate change and ensure a thriving future.

Did you know that 10% of global carbon emissions are due to clothing?

Cotton represents nearly half of the total fibre used to make clothing today. More than 90% of that cotton is genetically modified and uses vast amounts of water as well as toxic chemicals. Millions of tons of cotton is produced every year and is responsible for 16% of all the insecticides and 7% of all herbicides used worldwide - more than any other crop in the world. 

Extremely harmful chemicals are used on cotton crops, including nerve agents and neurotoxins. In addition, the use of child labour and slavery are widespread. There are reports that children as young as 7 are working below the minimum wage, and child labour in Uzbekistan, India, China and Egypt occur on a disturbingly large scale. Millions of children each year are used to cultivate, harvest and process cotton in the harshest conditions.

It’s not just cotton! Leather production is increasingly linked to a variety of environmental and human health hazards. The amount of feed, land, water and fossil fuels used to raise livestock for leather production comes at a huge cost to our planet. Hear what Stella McCartney has to say:

 Find Out More 

Check out more from the Fairtrade Foundation on this topic. Start with the blog post: ‘The True Cost of Fast Fashion’ or watch the 12 minute video ‘Unravelling the Thread: The Story of Fairtrade Cotton’ which shines a light on the dark side of the fashion industry. 

Get an idea of how we can each play our part in improving the lives of garment workers and join the Fashion Revolution. 

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Sources: www.truecostmovie.com www.statista.com www.theworldcounts.com www.worldvision.org