Aibu to really dislike Primark?

[Nomoet]

Tbh i tend to steer away from these discussions with my friends as I'm very much in the minority and well if people want to do what they want to do and you're not going to change their mind then what's the point?

But I was having a chat with a friend this evening about Primark who loves it and it's made me feel so uncomfortable. I think the main reason I dislike it so much is because it's ultra cheap fashion and I just don't buy that you can get stuff made that cheaply without huge compromises on standards of how people are treated in factories - whether it's child labour or working hours and working conditions or pay.

And what makes me feel cross is how many people buy willy nilly stuff from there all the time just because they can just because it's cheap when really they could go without it or get it from somewhere else and it wouldn't hurt them or certainly not as much as the person making their clothes is being hurt by these practises.

It's really none of your business where people choose to shop or what they choose to wear. Your disapproval really doesn't mean anything to anyone.

Have you gone around different Primarks interviewing people about their shopping choices and why they shop at Primark? Don't presume to know people's reasons for going there.

I quite like it for random things but would prefer quality and durable clothing ... I have £40 but I do not have £150 for a dress or a pair of cords

It's really none of your business where people choose to shop or what they choose to wear.

It really is when there are so many cheaply produced plastic/synthetic clothes being washed into our ecosystem that significabt traces are in our drinking water!!

The fastfashion culture is affecting everyone that hopes to continue to survive comfortably on this planet!

Clearly it does Maggie as evidenced by the posts here. There is an issue with cheap disposable clothing and how it lures people in to buy mindlessly. If you refuse to see it or even acknowledge it that's a very sad state of affairs but I'm not surprised. I notice that those of you bleating on about it being the only thing some people can afford still don't acknowledge the other points which still stand.

When I first moved to a town with a Primark I was like a kid in a sweetshop, especially as I didn't have much money at the time and it went a lot further there than anywhere else. I've gradually learnt to treat it the same as any other shop, ie I won't buy anything from there unless I would still like it if it came from a more expensive shop, and it looks as if it will last a few years. I find their jeans in particular are not great quality but some of the dresses, which don't get quite so worn, are good for a few years. I quite often change the buttons on their stuff as they tend to be horrible tacky gold ones on otherwise nice clothes.

This year I'm not buying any new clothes at all, but I still have a look around several clothes shops in town including Primark, just to see what's new and how I could adapt my existing clothes to create a version of a look. If I was buying new clothes I would be very tempted by the cream and blue-grey stripy trousers and jacket in Primark at the moment (assuming they all have the same brief on window-dressing, they were in the window a couple of weeks ago) and would possibly buy them as the basis of a collection for a city break holiday I've got coming up.

The other observation I have about that shop is that in over 10 years of looking around there fairly regularly, I think I can honestly say there's always a crying baby in there.

"There's always a baby crying in there."
I cry when I have to go in there
I'm certainly not a clothes snob or ashamed to be seen going in or coming out of there. The place just drives me mad.

I know some individuals do, grief, I was more querying whether that particular poster has that mentality, I phrased it badly. I just can't get my head around that at all so would love to hear their reasoning as it's alien to me.

Nothing to do with class or money really - I would think you can end up spending the same amount - eg 1 decent pair of good shoes that lasts a few years, vs 4 pairs crappy plastic ones that you chuck and replace.

Of course that's to do with money! If you don't have the £100 to buy a fancy pair of shoes to begin with and only have £20, and your existing shoes have now disintegrated, you have no choice but to buy a pair of £20 cheap shoes. And then replace them when they fall apart too. It's just one example of how being poor is more expensive in a lot of cases than being wealthy. People aren't buying cheap shoes because they're too stupid to know they're poorer quality, they're doing it because that's what they afford.

Another example from my own life: buying the cheapest car you can find because your budget is tiny, then having to spend more in the long run than you would have done just buying a better car to begin with.

I do agree that theres a certain reluctance to engage with the question of whether people are buying unnecessarily and a lot of defensive shoot the messenger stuff in this thread. I agree primark is a red herring. In every shop you'll get people buying stuff they don't need and won't make full use of. It's not true that it's no one's business or responsibility.

Actually I have some Primark jeans I bought, ooh, ten years ago. They are amazing quality for some reason. And they make my arse look fantastic. Wish I had bought 4 pairs! The quality of everything is shite now, in all the shops. I noticed it really take a dive right after the financial crash. They don't want to raise the prices so they skimp on the fabrics. I think now you have to spend a LOT to get good quality (which I can't).

I cry when I have to go in there

I do like Primark and shop there fairly often, but i would cry if i was pushed into one on a Saturday afternoon!

I earn way above the average salary. I shop in Primark. I get more for my pound. I have items from Primark that have lasted years.

At least primark is what it is.

What boils my piss is the shops where things are SUPPOSED to last changing to shit materials but still charging "quality" prices.

M&S socks and tights - grrrr! Used to wash/last so nicely! Now theyre being out-washed by our Tescos pairs!!

true Spring Hen. Clothes from Dorothy Perkins or Next aren't sourced any more ethically, nor are they better quality, they just pretend.

I have items from Primark that have lasted years.

Me too, but thats the point isnt it theyre not recent purchases.

Primark didnt used to do all this character/novelty stuff. They used to be cheap but a bit better.

That's great that you earn above average Maggie. That puts you above me.

The fact of the matter is my post and my point/problem is to do with mass consumption but very quickly this has raised issues about class and class tension when the truth of the matter is people of all classes do shop in Primark. Really this is not about getting rid of affordable clothing for poorer people but raising the standard of conditions so that clothes prices reflect their genuine value and raising the income of people in this country to be able to afford it.

Other fast fashion chains like Peacocks are jsut as bad for the seasonal/novelty shite. Was in the local Peacocks last week with DD and they STILL have a whole section of Christmas tat, reduced by 66% and still not selling.

Nobody needs Christmas bedding. Fair enough if you're desperate for a duvet cover with a polar bear, get one which you can use year round, not a polar bear with a party hat, cracker and Christmas trees in the background. Valentine's bedding, Easter bedding, autumn bedding.... all stuff we really don't need.

And yes to the cold-shoulder tops or whatever - we're seeing these by the thousands in donations bags at our charity shop. Because they've fallen out of favour and nobody wants them. Primark jump on whatever the fashion bandwagon is and then move onto the next thing, that's their whole ethos.

There are millions of us who aren't particularly fashion-conscious and couldn't tell whether skinny jeans are in or out, or what the "hot" colours are for this season.

Peacocks does do a lot of plain basics. Our one has a novelty section in adults and a fancy dress/character section in kids but none of the rest is characters theyre just ordinary clothes. Basic wearable maternity range that you can dress up or down for work etc, and better lasting school uniform stuff than M&S

Its great for smart casual basics for work that dont look fashioney or seasonal.

Appauling ethics. But far less novelty crap than primark (not none just less)

Years ago I used to buy leggings from Primark for £3. Leggings went out of fashion, my leggings carried on for several years. Fast forward to now. I can buy leggings for £3 from primark. They last about 3 washes.

Really this is not about getting rid of affordable clothing for poorer people but raising the standard of conditions so that clothes prices reflect their genuine value and raising the income of people in this country to be able to afford it.

You do realise that the just upping the price of clothes and upping wages will not make anyone less poor relatively as you have talked about there is inflation masked in a good will message.

I must go to a different sort of Primark to many posters here because in ours I can buy a plain, round necked, longsleeved cardigan. There’s all sorts of bedding and homewares alongside the Disney stuff and the tee shirts, jeans, pyjamas, knickers and socks don’t shrink or lose their shape and I’ve had them ages.

DS1 wears khaki tee shirts under his army shirts. They have to buy the ones with their regiment on them, they’re ££ and they’re shit. They shrink and the seams are all twisted. I bought him some for £2 each from Primark and they’ve been brilliant. They’ve been worn in all sorts of conditions, washed and tumble dried at least once a week for 2 years and it’s only now that they are starting to look like they could do with being replaced.

Both kids have Primark bedding at camp/uni. 3&4 years on respectively the colour is still good, the poppers havent given up and they look absolutely fine.

I get loads of my pyjamas in Primark. The ones I buy are 100% cotton. I spend a lot of time in pyjamas because I’m unwell and have spent ££ on them as well as getting them from Primark and very often Primark are better.

Justanother - my point is all people in this country need to be paid a decent living wage for any job they do (i.e. Taking into account inflation) and that we need to reloj at stuff we buy in hoards and how it's produced. It's much better for prices to reflect what it genuinely costs to make a t shirt or a dress or a pair of jeans rather than oh this costs £3 yay me! No there's a human cost along the chain for you to get that for £3. And yes all high street stores should be doing this not just Primark but given what it stands for it is one of the worst

I don't understand why you are are only venting your virtue signalling at Primark. As many posters have pointed out, most mid and some high range shops are no better for working conditions etc, it's just they charge a hell of a lot more.

I've never been to a Primark because there's not one convenient to me but would have no problem doing so. You bang on about the throw away culture but people have said they still have clothes from there from 15 years ago, so that's a non argument.

It's simple really, shop where you want - no-one is forcing you to shop there and leave others to make their own choices.

It's not a pleasant place to shop but that's down to other customers rather than the shop itself. It always seems to have a "Black Friday" atmosphere to be honest. I go there though because it's cheap. I'm not particularly interested in the conditions for the people who make the clothes - everyone who works is exploited in some way.

Those saying that people shouldn't shop in Primark should maybe offer to clothe all of the babies/children and teenagers up and down the land who would have no clothes otherwise.

Yes, for some people ( many people ) it's Primark or nothing.

I'm no clothes snob, I love Primark plain black stretchy vests, I love their pyjamas as well as other stuff.

I can afford to shop elsewhere but that choice doesn't make me any better.
There have been times when we've had very little money and my children have still been able to have new clothes/socks/underwear as I could afford the prices at Primark.

That doesn't take away the fact that I don't feel bad for those involved in the manufacturing of said items, sometimes charity begins at home.