True Cost (2015) (Japanese Subtitles)

The documentary, True Cost (2015), written and directed by Andrew Morgan, takes audiences where they usually do NOT want to go—to India, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, and the contaminated cotton fields of Texas, where because of fewer restrictions, clothing companies—from shoes to garments—are able to pollute at will, with dire consequences for public health and environmental pollution.  Students of Global Studies in Japan, where I teach, are always deeply touched and inspired by the lives of low wage workers.  They know that all of us are connected to them in ways that remain hidden.  Yes, we want cheap clothing—but at what cost?  What is the true cost of this?  The documentary also focuses on the 2013 sudden collapse of the Savar Building, where workers had been warning owners for months about the cracks in the wall.  1,134 workers, mostly women, were killed.  We later discovered that famous brand names around the world had contracts there—and no one from those rich companies bothered to ask about the conditions where the clothing was produced.