Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts

We go behind the scenes of BBC Three’s new documentary on ethical fashion

Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts follows six fashion conscious young Brits on a journey to India, to discover how their clothes are made.

There, they learn to sew, work in sweatshops and discover what life is like for the people who make the clothes for our high streets. We caught up with deputy creative director Mark Rubens to find out more.

Q:
How did the idea for Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts come about?
A:
There was a news story last year when Primark opened a new Oxford Street store [in London] and there was virtually a riot. The idea for the programme came from that story and a growing awareness of the phenomenon of very cheap clothes.

A lot of people aged 18-25 were buying clothes for a party or a weekend and then throwing them away and starting again. We wondered how many people knew about where those clothes came from.
Q:
Are you surprised by the programme’s popularity?
A:
BBC Three thought that this was a worthwhile subject to cover, but perhaps an issue close to the heart of [only] a small number of viewers. But we’ve been peaking at half a million viewers, so it shows that you can make programmes on subjects that people traditionally shy away from. The context is actually serious – it’s about international trade and globalisation – but it’s presented in a very accessible way.
Q:
How have UK retailers reacted?
A:
We weren’t looking to bash particular brands or companies – we wanted to enable a group of fashion fanatics to see how clothes are made. In fact, we didn’t have any contact with the British high street [shops] – all of our dealings were with the Indian manufacturers.
Q:
Did the Indian manufacturers know what the show was about?
A:
Yes, we were very frank and open – we didn’t hold anything back. We explained that young, British fashion conscious people wanted to have a chance to see how the clothes they wear are made.

The factories that let us in were proud of how hard their employees worked and the quotas they achieved. They were intrigued as to how the British people reacted.
Q:
There were plenty of tantrums – did you expect that?
A:
We tried to take a range of people. They formed a close rapport but some had travelled more widely than others.

Some said from the start that they weren’t interested in where their fashion came from and were more spoilt at home, so their reaction [to working in the factories] wasn’t so surprising. That said, they were all, to varying degrees, affected by the first factory. I don’t think any of them were expecting the salary to be as low as it was and they were surprised by the basic conditions.
Q:
What conclusions does the programme come to about disposable fashion?
A:
It becomes clearer in the final show – the contributors start to realise [the solution] is not as black and white as simply not buying stuff. If you did that, you would put a lot of people out of work. But there are alternatives. Not all clothes are made in the same way.

Some of the people in the programme have started thinking that they should become more aware of where their clothes come from and which companies have a better [ethical] record. If they try to buy the clothes from those companies, soon everyone will improve their conditions.