| 5 in 5 - Leah Borromeo |
 |
|
1. How did you become interested in issues around cotton? A friend invited me to an anti-Bayer stunt at the Bank of England held by Pants to Poverty. Any excuse to prance around the City in my underwear. There was some literature in the pub afterwards – I’d been aware of issues around cotton but never really paid too close attention because the information was packaged too academically. It’s a deadly serious subject with real, human effects – and no one seemed to cotton on to that [forgive the pun]. At the forefront were horrific diseases and disgraceful exploitation. The naked face of greed was running wild in a field of nightmares where I, as a consumer, was complicit in perpetuating. When I go to bed at night, I don’t like sleeping on sheets someone could’ve died producing. 2. As you were talking to cotton farmers while making your film, what surprised you the most? How young they were, yet how old they seemed. Adversity ages you in ways you can only internally express. Farmers were great. Everyone I spoke with was 100% into the idea of organic farming – it benefits them because they will ultimately get more money per yield. But the main problem lay in what their families would live on as they made the transition from conventional to organic farming. What shocked me the most were the middlemen and the businessmen slightly higher up in the food chain. Organic is a profitable buzz-word in India. Yet very few of the ones I spoke with knew anything or heard of the idea of what lay in fair trade principles, for instance. It’s not unusual for children to work on a farm, nor is it considered bad to be in a baking hot field for up to 16 hours a day. There were rumours of businessmen buying one lot of organic cotton at one price, another lot of conventional cotton at a cheaper price then cutting the two lots together and selling them on as 100% organic. Thanks to petty corruption, there’s a risk the word ‘organic’ will be tainted before a proper system can get going. 3. What’s one change consumers can make that will have an impact on cotton growers? Become an active consumer. There’s no point in having a conviction if no one knows about it. When you’re boycotting something, you have to tell people you’re doing it. Otherwise you’re just a passive consumer. I know it’s a bit of a bother for people to write emails to companies asking them to consider their acquisition policies. I tend to ignore online petitions because I doubt their effectiveness. But by actively buying the good stuff and chastising companies for still selling the bad stuff, you’ll get to them where they listen – their profit margins. I like what the Boycott Israel group have done – they provide stickers and labels to download so when you’re in shops, you can take direct action. I’m not just making a film, I’m trying to start a consumer campaign that will activate consumers and farmers alike. Consumers need the balls not to follow corporate marketing campaigns – to stand up for their bank balances and not waste money on clothes that kill. And farmers need the support and education that PAN, the Environmental Justice Foundation and other groups like them try to provide hands up, not handouts. 4. What do you buy more of: ethical apparel, organic food, or sustainable cleaning supplies? I’m rubbish. I try not to buy very much at all. Not least because there isn’t that much money about. Food and fashion are very important to me. I’d rather have something grown than store-bought. I value quality over cost. It’s how I was brought up. When it comes to clothes, if I can afford it I prefer to save up for one piece made by a budding designer or give my clothes to someone who can revamp them. As for cleaning supplies, the stuff offered on the market doesn’t really work. But vinegar does. 5. What does organic cotton mean to you? Before some clever Dickens decided to abuse science for corporate greed, there was no other way to grow cotton except organically. Cotton’s something that’s been used for nearly six thousand years beyond clothing people. It’s in money, in gunpowder, in the food we eat. It’s literally sewn itself into our life fibre. It was a gameplayer in the American Civil War, it was used by Gandhi as a symbol for Indian independence, it graces the celebrities we’ve been conditioned to worship. Cotton means power. And organic cotton means people power. To find out more about Dirty White Gold, email Leah at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Watch the trailer here |
