The Price of Cheap
Directed by Barry Stevens | Released 2021
A film about labor exploitation in the textile industry
Who Makes Your Clothes?
What is life like for the people who grow the cotton, process the material, and sew our garments? Many people think slavery is over, but there are presently 40.3 million people living in modern slavery. Forced labourers make up the majority of this number, as many vulnerable workers deep in the supply chains of everyday consumer products, especially clothing, toil with no or low wages, and cannot leave because of threats of violence.
The Price of Cheap tells the stories of modern slaves in textiles manufacturing supply chains and the brave individuals fighting on the ground against immeasurable odds to help them. We follow a man named Joseph Raj, who runs an organization called T.E.S.T. (Trust for Education and Social Transformation) in Tamil Nadu, India as he goes on raids to rescue underage children from unsafe and labour intensive factories. We hear from the survivors he has helped rescue, hear of their horrific experiences, and desire for education and change. Academics and social justice workers weigh in on why the issue of forced labour persists.
“This is not a dignified life… this is a slave life.”
— JOSEPH RAJ
from the organization T.E.S.T. in Tamil Nadu, India (Trust for Education and Social Transformation)
Production Team
Barry Stevens
Director
Chelsea O’Connor
Associate Producer
Taeo Soleil Levine
Casting Producer, Researcher
Steve Weslak
Editor
Erin Chisholm
Visual Researcher
Wang Jane Hui
Researcher
Kim Carter
Executive Producer
Shashank Walia
Cinematographer
David Hynes
Researcher
Zabi Yaqeen
Producer
Adam Craveiro
Production Manager
Reza Ahmadi
Researcher
Advisors
Robin Wright
Advisor
Kim Perdikou
Advisor
Niklas Traub
Advisor
Tom Butterfield
Art Advisor
FAQs
What is 'call to action'?
Corporate behavior can be changed, and for that we need individual consumers to make purchasing decisions that do not contribute to the propogation of labour exploitation, including forced labour, in supply chains. Go to www.muuvment.com/priceofcheap to sign up to our campaign.
What outreach programs are being developed?
Most of our everyday products – from the food we eat to the clothes we wear – are made by people who work in indecent conditions. Some are even produced by people trapped in slavery. Shop ethically with BuyFair, with which you can learn which brands guard against abuse and which do not. Browse through ratings in apparel, chocolate and electronics before making a purchase. Join the movement by scanning product barcodes to find out whether companies are transparent, and help our research by petitioning those that are not.
We consumers have a voice through our retail purchasing power. We need to evaluate what we buy. We need to ask “who made my product?” and avoid buying products that depend on forced or bonded labour.
When will the film The Price of Cheap be released?
The film is currently on the film festival circuit.