Last night Blood, Sweat and T-shirts came to an end with many of the fashion fanatics actually wanting to do something to improve conditions for workers in India. For their final challenge they worked in a factory within a slum and were shocked at the amount of children involved in the production process. They then returned to the UK and the BBC caught up with them four months later to see how the experience had changed their perspective. Whose life do you think was most affected by the series? Image courtesy of the BBC.
The weeks seem to just keep getting harder for the six young fashion enthusiasts over in India. Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse than last week's back street factory the group took a long packed train out of the main city to a cotton farm. The group also had to pay rent for the first time as the job provided no accommodation. They saw a few properties but eventually settled for the most expensive realising this would mean having to work very hard and experience slight sacrifices with food. The cotton farm required hard manual labour from the group which had to work without Amrita due to her cotton allegy. At the end of the second day they were unable to complete a days work claiming it was unfair to expect them to work as hard as Indian workers who had been doing the job for many years. How hard do you think they should work? Image courtesy of the BBC
This week saw the six fashion fanatics pushed to the limit as they worked and lived in a workshop producing blouses for the UK. The team were required to make the whole garment from start to finish making 36 blouses in three days between them. They struggled to even make the blouses, let alone reach the quality control standards. The experience became too much for Richard who wanted to quit and became agressive concerning the others. At the end of their three days in the workshop they had only managed to make 15 acceptable pieces at 12 rupees a piece earning them roughly 40p each. They were then allowed to stay in a hotel before heading on to their next challenge. Should they have been allowed to spend one night in a hotel? If you missed the episode, catch up here on BBC iplayer.
Blood, Sweat and T-shirts premiered on BBC3 last night. The documentary follow six young people to Delhi, India where for the first half of the programme they worked in a sweatshop producing clothes for the likes of Zara, H&M, French Connection and Gap. The four girls and two guys worked and lived like factory workers but struggled to cope with the harsh conditions. Did the realities of the industry change your opinion on bargain shopping? If you missed the show you can watch it now on BBC iplayer.
