Human Rights Foundation: Discounted Lives, 3

Le Truc, a creative collective within Publicis Groupe, is launching its latest pro-bono work in support of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) at SXSW in the form of an installation, ‘Discounted Lives’. It draws awareness to the dark links between fast fashion and forced labour — and the reality that when we buy heavily discounted goods from countries that exploit workers, we in fact discount their lives in every sense of the word. The work is the latest extension of HRF’s advocacy in partnership with the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, a coalition of civil society organisations dedicated to ending human rights violations perpetrated against the Uyghur population and other Turkic and Muslim-majority people. The ‘Discounted Lives’ installation features a simple set up: two racks of white t-shirts, priced at either $4.99 or $44.99. The shirts are seemingly identical. So, why the price difference? The answer is on a receipt, which is printed with all the “discounts” applied to the cheaper item: facts and statistics about forced labour and its accompanying human rights violations, alongside portraits of real Uyghur workers whose lives were discounted in exchange for cheaply-produced goods. The message “WHAT YOU SAVE COSTS THEM EVERYTHING,” featured on the receipt-printing pedestal, underscores the sobering truth of how we arrive at the $4.99 price point. 'Discounted Lives' builds on Le Truc’s existing partnership with HRF and drives the organisation’s broader and ongoing Wear Your Values initiative. Last year, Le Truc launched ‘Voices from the Inside’ in support of HRF’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund: Operation Sunflower.