For real, just head straight to Planet Money’s exquisite site devoted to their “Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt” project, because I promise, you will be consumed and entertained, and you will learn something. So much of the so-called “transparency” in the fashion marketplace right now is just marketing that includes attractive people in factory environs, and this package blows that clear out of the water with epic reporting, mind-boggling numbers, and most importantly, real human voices. But they also do it in style, with beautifully shot video, genius editing – the spinning machines set to music appear to be disco dancing – and Wes Anderson-worthy title cards. My only regret about this project is that I didn’t work on it.
If you’re only going to watch one video from the project, make it the one included here. But seriously, just check out the whole story. There are so many great moments. If that gets you in the mood for similarly informed video about the people who make our clothes, I’ll go ahead and plug one of my own, which you can find here.