Made in Asia
Fast, Cheap - and Fair?
When it comes to T-shirts, cheaper is better - whether in the eyes of customers, or from a commercial perspective. Today's global market is characterized by exploitation through long hours and minimal wages. That, at least, is what most people believe. But things are no longer quite so simple. Over the past few years, relentless public pressure has raised the consciousness of many corporations. Social responsibility is no longer a pejorative term, but instead a solidly established component of international commerce. This film visits Adidas in Indonesia, OTTO in Turkey, and H&M in India in order to observe the conditions of production of the millions of sneakers and T-shirts that flood European stores day in and day out. In many respects, things have gotten better, but there remains plenty of room for improvement. Again and again, we encounter factories where woman workers must put in 20 hour shifts, and are deprived of rights and contracts. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) make on-site inspections, training unions and workers, and increasingly cooperating with international textile manufacturers. Repeatedly, the convergence of Western interests and local conditions in the low-wage countries leads to problems. People who wonder how they are going to feed their families are relatively unconcerned about river pollution. Workers who expect no retirement benefits are also prepared to work without contracts. Multinational producers attempts to combat such conditions. Yet the chain of textile manufacturing is long, and not everything is controllable. What counts as fair and just? Inevitably this question will be posed again and again concerning working conditions and ecological protection in the low-wage countries.
weltweiter Vertrieb, München
Deutschland
www.globalscreen.de
Screenplay/Direction
Nicola Graef
Produced:
2007,
NDR/arte
45 min.
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