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.

oh for gods sake, stop going on about 'the smell of poor people', unless you believe it yourself in some weird reversed snobbery.

Yes there is an odd smell in Primark, and in other shops where everything has been dyed, insecticided and packed for weeks to be container shipped from China.

I have just been trying to sort my clothes out.
I have lots.
Lots and lots and lots.
Far too many.
A ridiculous amount

I am clearly part of the problem.

Funny though, only about 1% of my stuff is Primark.
So if I stopped going to Primark it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference to fast fashion and its evils.

Sainsbury's on the other hand....

I am far more tempted by Sainbury's good quality takes on high end (ish) high street fashion. They are cheap at full price but they virtually give the stuff away with their regular 25% off everything on top of their half price reductions.

The smell in primary is probably the pomanders the middleclasses carry when forced to enter the olfactory hell that is primark
The embellished vivid descriptions of primark smell make me wonder why staff don’t wear masks

oh for Gods sake Lipstick give it a rest.
You're the one banging on about 'the smell of poor people', nobody else.

Actually, reread about the formaldehyde,the chemicals,the vapours so pungent people cannot bear it
I didn’t initiate any of that, but I’ll certainly comment on the snobbery of it

love, you have made your point. Now you going on and on about it, just makes me think that it is you that thinks that poor people smell.

I have minus £17 in the bank and thirteen pence on my PayPal card before you start.

@mrsDV - Sainsburys 25% off starts this Tuesday

Here’s the thing you’re asking me to refrain from commenting on post like yours
I’m disputing the posts about the vapours and smells. Posts like yours actually
You want me to stop immediately?because we disagree. Riiiight
However had I posted that you and others are right,would you tell me to stop.No?funny that

still here lovie? going on about 'the smell of poor people'? I am finding you quite offensive tbh, speaking as a poor person

YABU to single out Primark. There are a lot of higher end stores sourcing from sweatshops, you’re just presuming a Primark are bad because it’s cheap and you’re a bit snobby.

In fact Primark are more alert to this than many having suffered past criticism and updated their procedures.

Sorry, haven’t read whole thread but I wondered if anyone has been moaning about ‘the smell of Next’. Doubt it, however they are the most recent chain I can recall being shamed for use of sweat shops. But they’re more expensive so that’s ok.

You’re asking me to stop disagreeing with you? Do you understand how mn works?

@MrsDV - totally agree! My dds always get complimented on their bright patterned trousers and they are all Sainsburys 25% off. Although I've defended Primark on here actually I do find Sainsurys better value and the colours are brighter and more interesting. I'm not convinced it's a more ethical choice than Primark but perhaps I'll avoid the OP's ire and pop in on Tuesday to stock up on school summer dresses. Thanks for the tip @ghosty!

ghosty I do not need any encouragement!

Seriously, I was considering asking my OH if he wouldn't mind using the downstairs cupboard as a wardrobe so I can take over his space in the bedroom

I am a lesson to parents who think 'ah now, looking scruffy and never having anything new never did a child any harm'

Beware. Your frugalness and eco friendliness now could be creating a clothes obsessive of the future...

Lipstick do yourself a favour and step away from the screen.

Are you going to singularly instruct everyone who disputed the primark smell to belt up?or just me
And no.ive got a cuppa,I’m settled now

I buy clothes from Sainsburys and I think they are great for children's stuff, the men's stuff is good as well but I find with the women's clothes some are great and some I just think why have you put the bit of nylon lace on? It looks so tatty. Sometimes the fabrics seem really stiff as well but the stuff I like I really like. I prefer Primark's towels, well Sainsburys are fine but Primarks are better value.

lipstick as I pointed out that’s in high end stores as well it’s just that the White Stuff can command a better class of air freshener through their ducts

Sorry to say unless you wear hand knitted hemp sacks your clothes will have chemical treatments regardless of where you get them from.

You are not usually getting better quality at all. I read an article recently about a factory that made jeans for dozens of companies - some mega high end, others primark type. They used the same process for ALL their jeans, the only difference being the fabric (ranged from £3-£5 a metre) but fabric used did not match the brands. I have 3 mulberry bags. One was made in Turkey, the other China, it's a company that make much of their English heritage and craftsmanship but produce cheaply abroad .

This "smell of poor people" is an invention by other posters which perhaps shows what they truly think about budget clothes shoppers despite their sneering otherwise. Primark stores have a burnt rubber smell. It's very strong. It's so strong that I can't really believe others don't smell it. There's a similar smell in Shoe Zone and one or two other places but in Primark it really is stronger. This is just a statement of fact. Petrol stations smell too but I know what that is.

Honey gave a very good reason as to why this is. It makes sense to me. As I kept saying, I didn't have an explanation, I just knew that the place invariably has this weird burnt plastic smell.

I'm grateful to the angry posters who have informed me that this is apparently the smell of impoverished people. I didn't know this, somehow they did. Thanks for explaining, every day's a school day.

Some people notice certain chemicals more than others. I used to hate going in the Levi store, made my eyes water and nose run.

Personally I don’t notice a smell in Primark, though.

I watched Gok Wan 'made in China' a few years ago. Basic high street clothes and high end designer stuff being made in the same factories.

Smell in primark isn’t fact it’s a subjective experience
The so called smell It’s not universally experienced
I have never noticed odour,vapour,smell in primark

If you don't notice the smell in Primark, you don't notice it and you have no sense of smell. But I'll thank posters who are attributing it to people (you know people who smell of burnt plastic? Are you androids?) to own that that's their own invention, presumably based on their own perception of Primark customers, and not anything I've suggested.

Honey' s explanation- that it's standard chemicals, high levels of stock and no air freshener- makes more sense to me, but I have no axe to grind on the matter. Primark stores have a burnt plastic smell, that's all I know.

Neither have I. Only know the reason for the smell some posters have mentioned is from visiting clothing factories. As I said though the Levi shop makes my eyes water something rotten, but I wouldn’t tell people to boycott it.

Passive aggressive striking out doesn’t make the alleged smell any more real
Perhaps the smell is an affectation to convey one doesn’t care for primark
Because primark source from same factories & suppliers as other high street retailers