Book Report: Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

This non-fiction book by Elizabeth L. Cline discusses the "fast fashion" movement and the problems it has created for workers, the environment, and the economy. For example, did you know that only 20% of clothing donated to charity shops actually gets sold? Or that polyester is now the dominant fiber in the world? Or that most garment factory workers make below a living wage and work in unsafe conditions, even in the US?

Cline was inspired to write this book after buying seven pairs of $7 shoes at a Manhattan Kmart. In order to discover how shoes and other clothes could possibly be so cheap, she spoke with fashion industry insiders and visited garment factories in Los Angeles, New York, China, Bangladesh, and the Dominican Republic. She also explored how we can reduce waste and help workers by changing our shopping habits.

This book is well-researched, well-written, and thought-provoking. It opened my eyes to the economics of the fashion industry and has made me a more mindful consumer. I give it an A.