to be annoyed at cheap uniform ads

[greenfanta]

workers in bangladesh are protesting about wages that they can't even live on. they want a 300% wage rise so they can survive, but the govt will only allow 80% (is it me or are these %s mental!)yet the supermarkets are bragging about school shirts for £2. how LITTLE are they paying these people??! and since when do we expect to only pay £2? IS IT ME OR IS IT IMMORAL TO EXPLOIT WORKERS IN THE EAST?

yanbu

I do 3 for 2 in m&s , that probably is no better

agreed, its dreadful - that said, we must remember there are also many many families in this country who cannot afford more than that for everyday kids clothes - I know there are other ways in which they are immensely rich compared to bangladesh etc (SIL has done charity work there for 3 years), but not everyone can afford to pay £5 a polo shirt or whatever would be fairer on the makers

My guess is the cheap uniforms are a loss leader, or whatever the buzzword is. Much like Harry Potter books.

I agree, you are DNBU!

Btw, my opinion is YANBU, I was just chucking out a possible explanation lol.

isnt as easy as wagging the finger at parents who buy these items. some people here also have low wages,and perhaps can only accommodate that price.

I had the same thought today. YANBU

I'm sure some bright spark will come on to say that we should boycott the companies that sell cheap uniforms, but really that is not the solution! If we stop buying, then the workers in Bangladesh will be out of a job, and if they find it hard to survive on the pittance they are being paid now, can you imagine what they will go through if even that pittance disappears? It is also unfair to blame the consumers in the West for buying £2 shirts...if the product is available, they will buy it, of course! The only solution is for manufacturers to start looking properly at the situation without keeping a beady eye on their profit line...and to say, right, we will be paying the textile workers a decent living wage, which means each shirt will cost £4, and we will be taking a small hit on our profit till the situation stabilises.

I don't see that happening any time soon though

If anything is going to be cheap then it should be school uniform. Nearly all young children wear the same uniform so there should be minimal cost in design etc.

I agree though, it made me feel very uncomfortable watching an advert earlier for uniform for £2 and I did wonder just what sort of hideous conditions people are working in to produce that.

yanbu AT ALL!

i think it's horrendous

i actually do not agree that there are families who can only afford that

i can guarantee you that my school uniform as a child cost more than that, and we were not well off at all. the british legion used to buy my school shoes for me

we used to have second hand uniform if my mum couldn't afford to buy new

i'm not denying that there are many, many people on the breadline in this country. but I suspect most of the people buying cheap uniform are doing it simply because it is cheap, and NOT because they can't afford anything more.

saying that, schools always used to have second hand uniform available.
i don't think many still do?
but is the cheap uniform cause or effect?

this is yesterday - i must beg to differ - yes there are those who choose to buy cheap uniform so they dont have to cut down on fags and booze, or who jet about on hols abroad 3 times a year, or who would rather spend their money on better quality food - but you are very mistaken if you do not realise the poverty stricken conditions in which some of OUR children are living, especially in some of our inner cities - it is a disgrace, it really is.

I too was brought up on hand me downs and jumble sale clothes, and qualified for free school dinners & a council grant towards secondary school uniform. my parents did not smoke or drink and we did not have holidays other than camping in the uk. But I was still luckier than the children living in poverty today - no heating, no new clothes ever, no holidays or day trips ever

as i said this is in a different league to living standards in places like Bangladesh, but that doesn't mean its not appalling

I wish my kids were still young enough to get their uniform this cheap,

It all changes once they hit secondary school and you have to buy everything from the school, Polo Shirts with the school logo, Tie, Blazers, Different Pe kit for different sports,

My son is 14 and a polo shirt for him is £9.50 from the school,

As a single parent I would much rather get 3 or 4 for the same price from a supermarket as when he comes home covered in paint from an art class i cannot send him to school in it again, it obviously goes in the bin.

Is uniform compulsory at senior school level at state schools ? My neighbor has just spent £400 on her boys uniform for year 7, I've fitted out three for prep school for less, hats, boaters, hockey boots the lot.

You know, I do start threads about school uniform swaps, if you go into advanced search, type in school uniform swapsie you'll find them. Just pay for postage, the ultimate in recycling/hand me downs.

Yes unifom is compulsory, at my kids school,I couldnt comment on others,

The only thing I can get at normal shops is my sons trousers,

My son is fairly tall for his age so have to get mens, not kids and my daughter is in sixth form, she doesnt have to stick to uniform but must be smart, Pretty much like she would be expected to dress if she worked in an office, Not so much of a problem as she can shop anywhere;

Uniform is compulsory in most secondary schools.

The thing is, these companies make massive profits, so they could pay the manufacturers more and still give us cheap goods, surely? It's not our fault, it's theirs.

perpetually, well if we're having a competition

we had no heating
we had no washing machine
we had no television or vcr
we never, ever went on holiday or day trips unless my nana allowed us to come with her in her caravan
i can remember ONE time in my childhood when i was bought a brand new dress

i do NOT underestimate how poverty stricken some children in this country are. But I don't think that excuses £2 uniforms. there are other ways of getting cheap uniform. jumble sales, second hand, pass-ons from other people at the school.
it's simply unnecessary.

Alfie... if you choose to throw away £9.50 shirts then more fool you!
do they not have aprons for art? we always did
and if we did get dirty my mother washed the stains out

The companies could still sell us £2 shirts while paying the factory workers decent wages. Supermarkets make millions in profits.

It's not the consumer's fault or responsibility.

Agree but the trouble is that having higher prices is no guarantee that the workers are paid more - it just goes into company profits.

Yes, how many times do we get news headlines saying Tesco have made ££££ profit this year, up %%% since last year? They are hardly struggling.

And throwing away a £9.50 school shirt? Sorry, but that is madness. Tell him to wear a pinny!

Alfie didn't say she threw away £9.50 polo shirts. I think she said she'd rather buy 3 or 4 cheaper ones in case they needed throwing away from staining.

Agree, its very annoying to hear how much profit these massive supermarkets are making. They should be made to pay these workers a certain amount.

YANBU but theya re there becuase some people here are poor (relative perhaps but no money = no money at the end of the day when it comes to buying levels up from cheapest) and becuase some people don't care.

I buy as good a brand ethically as I can afford at the time, although I do buyy cheaper polos usually (am going to trial the stain away ones from M&S) as ds3 has special needs and ruins a shirt in often 1 or 2 wearrs and that gets silly costly.

But i totally get what you eman OP and no, YANBU.

Oh and Lutyens is right: boycotts don't work either, becuase starvation is even worse than the terrible conditions of the factories some people work in. Better to join pressure orgs and actively work towards better conditions that harangue the poorest people here just trying to get by, IMVHO.

They do wear aprons but they dont cover the entire shirt and teenage boys do sometimes flick paint at each other and think its funny,

On the few occasions this has happend I have obviously washed it before throwing it away but if the stains dont come out completly then I can't send him to school in it again as he will just get sent home and have to change.