A new project spells out the conditions endured by the people who make our clothes

Advocacy group, Fashion Revolution are taking transparency to the next level by showing consumers the upsetting details that lie behind cheap fashion. Late last month the group installed a t-shirt vending machine in Alexanderplatz in central Berlin. Passers-by could purchase a t-shirt from the machine for the tiny sum of 2 Euros. However, instead of being presented with their purchase, consumers are shown a 20-second video about the sweat shop conditions in which these kinds of clothes are made. After the video, the viewer can choose to take his or her purchase or donate the 2 euro to Fashion Revolution to aid their fight for better labour conditions.

“I think the understanding that our clothes are made by people who are in many cases miserable and exploited, from materials that are both polluting and containing toxic chemicals, is now becoming part of our daily language,” explains Fashion Revolution co-founder, Orsola de Castro. “Just as many consumer have switched to organic produce in food and made locally, the same is starting to happen in fashion.”

Created with production studio Unit9 Berlin, this project is part of a steady shift in consumer consciousness. An increased awareness of the processes behind cheap manufacturing is creating a demand for more ethical produce, and as Orsola says, “companies are also becoming more aware that better practices lead to better business, and that sustainable innovation will eventually prove cost effective as well as a communication tool.”