Sample Fashion Show Script

January, 2006

This is a sample fashion show script that we have used in some MSN-sponsored events. Please modify the script according to your own objectives and audience. Through quick research, you can update the information on companies and abuses.

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WELCOME

Announcer 1

Welcome to our Sweatshop Fashion Show! We have a real treat for you today! In just a few moments you will get a chance to see our models displaying some of the hottest fashions from your local mall!

Announcer 2

This show isn't all about looking good though. Today we will be taking you behind the scenes of your favourite brands. We are going to be looking at something the big clothing companies don't want you to know about: the truth about the conditions under which our clothes are made.

Announcer 1

So please get comfortable, and listen good because you don't want to miss a moment of our upcoming presentation.

Hudson's Bay Company

 

Announcer 1

Our first model is __________. She is looking very patriotic in this sweater from the Hudson's Bay Company's Canadian Olympic Team Uniform. HBC is Canada's oldest retailer, having been established in 1670. Can you get any more Canadian than that?

Announcer 2

Don't get ahead of yourself there. Even though HBC is a Canadian retailer and the uniforms are for the Canadian Olympic team, most of the Olympic line is made overseas in countries like China, where they are cheaper to make and where sweatshop abuses are more common.

GAP

Announcer 1

Our next model is __________. She's wearing a sexy outfit that she picked up at GAP. A favourite shopping destination of mine!

Announcer 2

For many years GAP was infamous for its sweatshop abuses. After more than 10 years of campaigns and actions by students, and concerned citizens, GAP has begun to change its ways. In 2005 it released its second corporate social responsibility report, a document compiling information on their practices with regards to labour and the environment.

GAP

Announcer 1

Our next GAP model is ___________. Doesn't she look hip and comfortable? She looks just as great as the models and stars in their ads!

Announcer 2

Despite their improvements, GAP still has a long way to go. Their code of conduct, the document that protects worker rights, states that the minimum age to be employed at any of their factories is 14. Whereas the International Labour Organization, a UN initiative, states that the minimum age that someone can be employed at is 15.

WAL-MART

Announcer 1

Our next model is __________. Isn't she looking great? And you would never guess how much she saved by buying her outfit at Wal-Mart.

Announcer 2

The reason Wal-Mart is able to keep their prices so low, is that they pay as little as they can to the people making their products. In 2004, workers making products for Wal-Mart stores in China and Bangladesh were being paid as little as $.17/hr!

WAL-MART

Announcer 1

Our next model, __________, is also a Wal-Mart shopper. Check out this fabulous look.

Announcer 2

Wal-Mart is also notorious for denying its workers the right to organize -- not only in their factories overseas, but also in their stores across North America! In April 2005, Wal-Mart closed a store in Jonquiere, Quebec closed after workers successfully unionized.

NIKE

Announcer 1

__________ is kicking it in these Nike digs. From head to toe, Nike has all the right style to cover _________ on and off the court.

Announcer 2

Nike has spent many years as the poster child of sweatshops. Pressure and constant campaigning by people all over the world has seen Nike take on a great deal of initiative when it comes to labour rights in recent years. They are far from perfect, but in 2005 Nike set a great example by being the first major retailer to disclose a full list of the factories where their products are produced.

NIKE

Announcer 1

Here we have _______, who is sporting a great outfit and the hipster staples: converse chucks. I don't think you can ever be out of style in a pair of those.

Announcer 2

Maybe not out of style, but certainly out of date when it comes to labour practices. Did you know that Converse is owned by Nike? It certainly is. And even though Nike has a code of conduct for its factories and releases annual CSR reports, it doesn't include its Converse or Bauer labels in any of its Social Responsibility programs. Tsk Tsk.

Le Chateau

Announcer 1

Our next model, __________, is wearing the latest from local favourite Le Chateau.

Announcer 2

Le Chateau is a publicly traded Canadian company, and yet it refuses to make any information regarding the production of its apparel public! In a recent report by the Ethical Trading Action Group, Le Chateau scored a whopping zero for not telling its customers anything about the conditions in which their trendy clothes are made.

CLOTHING WITH YOUR SCHOOL'S NAME ON IT

Announcer 1

Here comes __________ showing off her school spirit with the latest fashions from the University of _______.

Announcer 2

__________ wondered if her university was connected with sweatshop labour. Unfortunately, she was never able to find anything that would guarantee it wasn't since her school doesn't have a No Sweat policy. With the help of other students, last year ______ began a campaign to convince their administration at their University to adopt a code of conduct to protect the rights of workers manufacturing clothing bearing the school's name. Thank you, _________!

FINALE

[all models back on stage]

Announcer 1

And now I'd like to call on all our models back on stage. All of these major apparel companies have a responsibility to ensure that all the workers who make their products are provided a living wage and decent working conditions, and that their right to organize to improve conditions is respected. Consumers have a right to know where our clothes are made and under what conditions. Companies must publicly disclose information on the name and location of their supply factories, and allow independent monitoring of factory conditions.

Announcer 2

We are not asking you to boycott any of the products shown in this fashion show. We don't advocate boycotts unless the affected workers request us to act, or in exceptional circumstances when countries are determined to be systematic violators of worker and human rights. We are asking that you support the efforts of garment, toy and shoe workers around the world to improve their wages and working conditions.

[Models hold hands together in the air, take a bow]