If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨
Options
Take a look around and enjoy reading the discussions. If you'd like to join in, it's really easy to register and then you'll be able to post. If you'd like to learn what this place is all about, head here.
Comments
gonna get flamed for this...BUT
i buy cheap clothes because i cant afford to buy expensive ones..
i feel bad for people working for shit wages, its not fair and its not right, but what would they be doing if they werent working for primark?
probably rooting in rubbish bins for something to sell, selling their bodies/organs/kids!
i know its not nice and not ethical, but i think its the best of 2 evils
that's probably come across really bad, i dont promote slave labour
i don't want to get involved in a big debate. i agree with what littleali said - well some of it. i cant afford to buy my clothes any where else really. it is horrible to think where the clothes might come from, and it is defeatist to say that one person objecting to it won't make a difference, but that's just how i feel. it's like being a vegetarian or being against fox hunting, both of which have moral concerns at heart but ultimately involve a choice being made either way and that being the end of it. i am really crap at explaining things but don't banish me to the fifth chamber of hell for shopping at primark - is what im trying to say..:(
This is one thing that annoys me, sure the wages they pay are shit and we couldn't live on $7 a week, but bear in mind that each dollar is worth shitloads more where they are from.
Most clothes brands aren't going to be particularly ethical. Also the unethical rating that Primark got includes shit liek who the company is owned by and the fact that the parent company owns fortnum and masons who sell foie gras.
How is another totally unrelated company to them (other than owndership by a larger company) selling mushed up engorged dick/goose livers have any bearing on their products?
Engorged dick livers. Yum.
Oh, right. So the people who work for Primark in other countries are relatively rich, with their shitloads of money? Pull the other one.
In terms of foie gras, of course it has no direct impact on the clothes sold. But if the parent company has no scruples or isn't regulated in one area of production then you can be pretty damn sure that they ain't right on in any other areas either.
I know it is no excuse for paying such pathetic wages, but it is something you have to take into consideration when considering it all.
As for the labour that they employ abroad to make the clothes, they're not really that much worse than any other company. It's business and politics at the end of the day and certain companies will protect their own reputations by signing agreements and all the rest of it. Unfortunately, in this day and age, a piece of paper with a signature often isn't any better than a handshake. Companies pay lip service to these agreements and that's about it. And no, I cannot back this up before anybody asks; I'm merely pointing out that I don't trust these 'more reputable' companies who charge more for their clothes and probably have a huge profit margin.
Primark is honest about what it is. It doesn't make any claims to being ethical or to selling cheap clothes to keep the consumer happy. Naturally, they are making money on everything that they sell just like the other stores, only they go for the quantity of sales rather than the quality of product ... having said that, I've had loads of stuff from there and it's lasted years.
Anyone who doesn't just want to bury their head in the sand might be interested in the report put together by the charity War on Want which claims that Primark, Tesco and Asda use sweatshops in Bangladesh which regularly pay the women they employ 5 pence an hour for 80 hour weeks, and put them to work in dangerous conditions to produce their clothes.
War on Want report.
BBC story giving retailers' response.
Of course, many big name companies have caught onto the fact that being seen to be ethical is good business and therefore will issue press releases and statements about corporate social responsibility and their ethical standards. That's where we definitely need to put our critical thinking caps on, and make up our own minds about how reliable these press releases are. This is why I would tend to believe an independent charity over the spokesperson for a specific store, but that's just my own view. In a more extreme example perhaps than Marks and Spencer and other clothing retailers, Shell - the oil company - make all the right noises and say all the right things about the environment on their website and in official statements - but are as far as I am aware they are still very much involved in the Nigerian economy. Nothing like blowing smoke up people's arses. If anyone is interested in that then Amnesty International has done a lot of research into it.
As for where is actually an ethically sound place to shop, I think the answer is "it depends". Or ethical in what way?
A company that sources less toxic material for manufacturing and has greener production values might treat its staff very badly (union-crushing, disgraceful wages, no sick pay etc.), whereas one which trades fairly with suppliers might produce lots of non-recyclable packaging. It depends which measures you think are most important. Ethiscore ranks a shedload of consumer products and companies on all kinds of merit, so it's a very interesting and enlightening point of reference.
Another pressing issue in terms of Primark and its ilk of cheaper clothing retailers is that the quality of the clothes encourages people to have a more disposable wardrobe as the clothes are not made for longevity or to be hard-wearing. That [obviously] means the cycle of production is speeded up, which could have a devestating environmental effect. Then, when the clothes are disposed of they are less likely to be suitable for donation to a charity shop because of the poorer quality and shorter lifespan -- so they end up in landfill sites. I'm not at all convinced that the effects of consuming more and throwing away more - whether it's clothes or disposable consumer electronics as produced by Tesco in their value ranges - are being mitigated by recycling. Even if people were upping their recycling to the necessary degree, I have read various reports which reference the fact that a hefty proportion of "recycling" is shipped to the third world - particularly China - where it is disposed of by (you've guessed it) low paid workers in dangerous conditions.
So, in short, I don't think you can divorce issues of environment and third/first world labour anyway. The price of cheap clothing is very high.
Nothing earth shatteringly new there, but I do wonder what people think about this? If they think about it at all. Personally speaking, the issue of labour concerns coupled with environmental red flags is definitely enough to stop me from buying supposed "bargain" clothes from Primark or supermarkets.
Anyway I'll shut up now as I'm way off on a tangent. I just hate ostrich-syndrome, it's paving the way for a massive recession. Or worse.
Ya snob
I'm with Briggi on this one - anyone who is interested in the debate might like to read TheSite's article on eco fashion too.
You're either loaded, or wear the same clothes over and over.
I don't understand people who can get on such a high horse about the price of clothes. Fair enough if it looks crap. I mean, I will only ever buy Diesel or Miss Sixty jeans because cheaper jeans just don't look as good (imo). But you can find some nice things in there and believe me I get complimented loads. If you could get over that snobby attitude you might pick up some good fashion bargains!
i had a mate like that
bragged how much an outfit cost, but she only had 3 decent going out outfits and would have to alternate them every weekend....
where as me and my mate got something new nearly every week because it was cheap, and you can guarentee we got asked "where did u get that top" and she didnt...coz she wore it every other week lol
March 06
It obviously must have been before the remake
Oh, and tbh, some of their stuff doesn't look cheap at all. But granted, you have to be a tad open minded because alot of the stuff doesn't look great until it's on.
To be fair though, to be people who 'don't do the cheap thing', everyone knows what Primark's now like, and could easily mistake your Topshop tunic for a Primark one. You're only kidding yourselves. :razz:
I don't like cheap clothes either. If i was to buy something cheap it would be of reasonable quality and i'd have to be desperate.
I went in the Manchester Primark once, It was awful, Never again.
It may be a big store, but that just means there's more people.
Loada crap, Why spend half hour queueing for a piece of clothing because it's 3 quid, why not just work an extra half hour, and buy something of better quality, heh heh :razz:
A company that sources less toxic material for manufacturing and has greener production values might treat its staff very badly (union-crushing, disgraceful wages, no sick pay etc.), whereas one which trades fairly with suppliers might produce lots of non-recyclable packaging. It depends which measures you think are most important. Ethiscore ranks a shedload of consumer products and companies on all kinds of merit, so it's a very interesting and enlightening point of reference.
[/QUOTE]
Very enlightening. I was particularly interested to see which stores didn't have a code of conduct in suppliers' factories. Not just the cheapo stores!
It really is hard to decide what is and isn't ethical. I don't think that people (like myself) bury our heads in the sand, so to speak. I think that it's more of a case of knowing what to do for the best. I owe a shit load of money. I need to new clothes. Where am I going to buy them from? Naturally, I'll go to somewhere cheap. But then I don't like being responsible for the suffering of others. Who do you put first?
I know that it's selfish but if I was in a position to buy more expensive clothes, I bloody well would. I'd prefer to have more expensive clothes .... I'm just a snob with a cheap wardrobe.
Exactly what I thought.
In the days before cheap, disposable clothing was available via Primark and its ilk someone in that financial situation would've shopped in a charity shop or not shopped at all. Though that said, their existing wardrobe would probably be of better quality (since it wouldn't have been bought at Primark) so maybe they wouldn't be in the position of needing new clothes so frequently. I don't doubt that you actually do need new clothes, but there are lessons to be learned from the past about why we need new things so frequently and (as a side issue) why nothing is ever fixed or repaired anymore.
It's a vicious circle, and I'm not addressing this at you specifically (or, indeed, anyone in particular), but I really don't get it. I have no problem with people shopping at Primark - they can fill their boots for all I care - but the majority of people do bury their heads in the sand regarding these kinds of fair-trade/ethical/environmental issues... or actually just don't give a flying fuck to begin with. Someone has to.
lol i'm not loaded and i have loads of clothes. most of my more expensive clothes e.g. diesel are brought in the sales. i very rarely pay full price for my jeans/jackets if they're label. i shop in places like topshop normally so i'm not exactly a label freak i just prefer spending a bit more (even if it's only topshop!) to get the better quality.
better quality blahblah blah. my tpshop clothes are no better than my primark clothes. last just as long and look just as nice.
I suppose that I've never really thought about the ethical side of clothes buying before. It's not something that's really 'out there' unless you look for it. I know that it's up to people to make a stand and not shop in these places but there should also be some sort of law about it. How is it that these companies are allowed to trade when their policies in the workplace are so shoddy. In general, the public will buy what's available to them but if these shops were forced to close down or look more closely at the way that they deal with their workers, these cheaper clothing alternatives wouldn't be an option.