Thank God I know people with Cable

The television conglomerate that is Discovery channel (Seriously do they own everything on cable t.v?)

also runs the channel "Planet Green" which describes itself as the "first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network." Recently I was flipping channels and landed on this little gem: "Blood, Sweat, and T-shirts". Which is a bad title but let's move on.

First things first: BS& T-shirts (Whoops!) was originally created by BBC three. I strongly strongly dislike BBC three: maker of many things ridiculous. (See Lindsay Lohan's recent BBC Three sponsored sex-trafficking "documentary" for further justification. Also you should watch that clip just to see Lin Lohan in her winning hijab and short sleeve convo. Um someone needs to clue homegirl in on what wearing a headscarf is about).

The series centers around six British 20-something year old "fashion addicts" (a.k.a Hipsters), most of whom seem to live with their parents and therefore "do not know the meaning of money". They get shipped off to Indian sweatshops under the guise of learning where their clothing comes from, presumably in order to make the decision to never purchase clothing again and instead wear outfits fashioned from recycled plastic bags.

Watch them as they make ridiculous comments about "wearing clothes once" and "Not caring if their clothes is made by a three-year old or...a fifty year old!" (That last comment was followed by a giggle fyi.) Now watch them go to India to work in a sweatshop and live with their co-workers! See them cry about failing sewing-tests and using squat toilets! Watch their horrified faces when they realize that deoderant costs a days wages! Laugh and cry with them as they realize that THIS SYSTEM IS UNFAIR and THESE PEOPLE ARE BEING ABUSED!

Apparently they cry at the end of the series. But not before we get the distinct feeling that this show is about profiling these unfortunate participants-spoiled brats! Fools! I can't believe they shop at trendy cheap stores! etc..., and not actually learning about sweatshop labor and ways to improve factory-conditions. This is unfortunate because apparently BBC-three has a wide audience, many of whom are younger (hence Lindsay's bbc-bonus-treat). We do however get to see a lot of their indian co-workers. Most of them don't speak english (this is apparent when our friend Stacy tries to ask for the bathroom and instead gets water from an obviously bbc-imposed water tank) and are instead shown chastising the brits and working really really hard. We don't actually learn much about them except what they make each day, that they are "unskilled workers", they ALL sleep in one room (!), and I think maybe two of their names. Also that they get duped in a trade-off between work and mascara (this happens, this is real) and then chastised by the Brits for "disgusting working conditions".

Hmmmm I can't help but think of the words "exploitation" and "stupid". Does this give anyone else the icky-feeling it gives me? To be fair I've only seen one episode but it's not looking good...

Does anyone know of any well-done docs on sweatshop labor?