China Blue Reflection

I’ve never been very interested in fashion and I’m not a fan of constantly updating my wardrobe. Seeing the major effects that the fashion industry has makes me feel better about falling behind in the fashion world. I watched China Blue, a documentary about the poor working conditions in Chinese factories that produced denim products, for my International Management course as an undergraduate student. That documentary impacted me, and I often think of the people that were highlighted in that film. I feel as if The True Cost will be a documentary that I think of from time to time as well.

I appreciated how many angles of the fashion world the documentary showed. I had no idea that it is the most labor demanded industry in the world and I certainly wouldn’t have guessed that it was the second most polluting industry. It was interesting to hear viewpoints from the cotton farmer, factory owners, designers, garment workers, environmentalists, and investment managers. The biggest learning lesson that I gained from the video was that we place too much emphasis on things we don’t need. The materialistic lifestyle that many cultures strive for results in too many negative consequences for other people. People are losing their lives in factories, they are endangered by pesticides and toxins, they are lacking clean

Making a good business decision doesn’t always mean it is the best possible decision. Economic benefit is not the most important thing. We need to hold everyone else’s wellbeing and the state of our planet in high regard. We need to be concerned with the activities that are taking place to accomplish the outcome we are seeking. Outsourcing may be a smart economic decision, but we need to investigate it. Simply placing the responsibility of making legal and ethical decisions on the company that we outsource to isn’t right and it doesn’t lessen our role in the