When three sprightly fashion bloggers from Norway agreed to star in a month-long reality show in Cambodia, they were probably expecting more “Project Runway,” and less human rights violations in a series produced by their country’s largest newspaper, Aftenposten.
But once Anniken Jorgensen, Frida Ottesen and Ludvig Hambro touched down in a cramped workroom in Phnom Penh, they quickly realized they weren’t in their cushy blogosphere anymore and would have to endure the harsh realities more than 500,000 workers there face, according to advocacy group Clean Clothes.
“The truth is, that we are rich because they’re poor,” Hambro said in the final episode of “Sweatshop.” “We are rich because it costs us 10 euros (about $11) to buy a T-shirt [at] H&M. But somebody else has to starve for you to be able to buy it.”
–
“We must fight with our heart,” Yot told them.
At the end of the series, the bloggers paid heed to Yot’s message when they committed to showing the world the injustices they experienced firsthand.
“You can’t solve everything or fix such a global problem,” Jorgensen said. “But they really don’t ask for much — to get a bit more money, some fans in the ceiling in a factory. We just have to push to get it done.”
