Friday, February 19, 2010

Forever 21 - please think before you shop

I knew it was too cheap to be true.

Sweatshop labor in the US – Forever 21 has been running sweatshops in California and using Mexican immigrant labor in subpar working conditions to provide you with cheap disposable clothing. How can you in good conscious spend money on a product that forces fellow women to work in sweatshop conditions? Several of these women have banded to together and created a must see documentary called “Made in LA”. It is very easy to say “Oh yeah, it may be cheap labor but I can’t afford anything better” and thereby distancing yourself from the issue at hand but watching this documentary and seeing the faces behind your garments should open everyone’s eyes.

Additionally, Forever 21 has been taken to the California Supreme Court regarding its unfair labor practices repeatedly. As one factory worker Guadalupe Hernandez explained she earned, “$4 per hour working 10 hours a day 6 days a week in a factory with no running water and no bathroom.” Clearly the cost of fast fashion is too high!