27 May 2010 | Isabel Palmer

Blood, Sweat and Luxuries

BBC Three

Tuesdays, 9pm

2 out of 5

With Blood, Sweat and Takeaways recently earning a Bafta nomination for best factual series, it was probably inevitable that more programmes in the Blood, Sweat and… vein would soon follow.

Using the same documentary/reality show format, six young Brits are packed off to work in Madagascan gem mines, leather and coffee production in Ethiopia, e-recycling and gold mines in Ghana and the electronics industry in the Philippines. The aim is to discover the human cost of their gadgets, trainers and bling.

Seeing unethical supply chains in the third world is a reminder for buyers to be aware of the corruption and poor treatment of workers that often goes along with products made there.

But this is entertainment too, so the cast is a group of 20-something spoiled brat stereotypes. These luxury-lovers all covet prestige and celebrity through junky consumerism. As one participant says: “I don’t think about where these luxuries come from when I buy them… I just don’t notice because I don’t care.”

The revelation that men, women and children work six days a week in life-threatening conditions to mine and produce the indulgences they take for granted is quickly followed by immature spats and teary confessions of self-enlightenment.

But the real question is not “Do we care?” – this should be wholly rhetorical. It should be “How can we change these injustices through political, social and economic intervention?”

But there is no easy answer, and this series doesn’t attempt one.

* By Isabel Palmer