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.

When you consider that Primark was one of the first high street shops to only have paper recyclable bags and have very little packaging etc, they aren't doing that badly. I don't buy clothes from Primark, well I don't buy clothes much anyway (the joy of being retired and able to scruff around) but I do buy towels and sometimes pyjamas and underwear. I love their paper carriers and always wonder why other shops can't do the same.

But if there was the desire to change and people willing to spend more it would absolutely be the best thing to bring production back and pay people decent wages for making these clothes.

But lots of people are willing to pay and there are lots of small/artisan British brands? Nooki is a nice one for example. I don’t think handwringing over people buying clothes in primark is going to change global economic trends.

Also the word ‘entitlement’ in terms of exchanging money for goods I don’t think is a thing - there have always been cheap clothes.

cantstopfuckingeating I know what you mean about part of the culture, love a wander around Penney’s! Ahh I love the pre-holiday bikini and sunglasses shop! Makes me .

they have some crap and some gold, like all big shops - depends what you buy!

I've never understood the Primark = poor quality either.

I love it but closest is 50+ miles away. Last time I went I stocked up on basics - t-shirts, jeans, leggings and some jumpers/cardigans - spent about £50 all-in and everything I bought is still in good condition and perfectly usable. That was about eighteen months ago and with things being worn/washed most weeks.

And most higher-end retailers use the exact same factories (I know, I work for one of them!) and the conditions are exactly the same - they just have a much bigger mark-up!

DD really need knickers, I mean really needs them! We are going to out nearest town with a Primark in anyway today, I am skint and really do not have the available funds to think about why I should not shop there.

So, DD's new knickers will be purchased in Primark.

Actually I think there are 2 things you dislike but youve picked primarni as representing both of them.

1. The global supply chain where risk is sent down the chain and value is sent up.
2. Throw away fashion.

But surely people do not buy clothes in the view of giving them away to charity when they are done with them?
I buy a mix of everything, more by taste than anything else. if I do buy more expensive brands, it's not because I can give them away! To sell them at best, but I don't really care if my clothes are still of good quality once I no longer wear them

So the majority on here don't cate about the exploitation of the fashion individual of adults and children but I have just read a thread where posters hate porn for its exploitation.

Double standards when it suits

I don't think there clothes are bad quality, not all of them anyway. When my DD was in sixth form I bought her a top from Primark and she loved it and bought another in the same colour. She still wears them and she's nearly 30. I don't think that is bad going, they survived halls, student houses, damp flats and now luxuriate in her built in wardrobes in the house she bought with her partner last year. I think she will want a Viking funeral for them when they finally give up.

I think people are deluded if they tell themselves that exploitation of workers doesn't happen when it's clothes for expensive shops they're making. Targeting Primark whilst ignoring that expensive shops have exactly the same issues (you could even argue they are morally worse as with the prices they charge they have much more money they could pay the workers) is ridiculous.

Regards to cheap pants, the material is just not what you need to be wearing around your privates!

Since when has cotton been bad around your 'privates'?

Oh I used to shop in Primarni, as a student 20 years ago, I still have some if the clothes in my cupboard in very good condition. No different quality to River Island, Topshop or Dorethy Perkins. In fact all those years ago, I think tge clothes were nicer. I bought some stretch peddle oysters about 9 years ago, they are still going strong and lovely and comfy.

I buy bits and bobs there, I love the sunglasses selection. I don't have to worry about them getting lost or broken cos they only cost £2. You can get a handbag for a couple of quid to go with a specific outfit.

I don't believe many of the big brands are any more ethical tbh. The throwaway thing is more of an issue, but I pass stuff on/donate to the chazza/rag bin as I expect many of us do.

So the majority on here don't cate about the exploitation of the fashion individual of adults and children but I have just read a thread where posters hate porn for its exploitation.

Is it the same people posting? Then it would be double standards.

For the record I don't agree with the exploitation of people in factories making clothes and I do my absolute best to only buy second hand where possible. That doesn't explain why the OP has singled out Primark and not other shops.

Peddle pushers doh, not oysters😂😂😂

I often shop there especially for my teens as they grow out of stuff so quickly and change their mind on fashions. The things they've has such as jeans and hoodies have lasted as well as more expensive brands. Cotton pants and socks too.

A good few years ago I bought a few t-shirts for my husband from Primark for lying around the pool/beach on holiday. He wore them them snorkelling, dried them off in full sun without rinsing and still they kept their colour and shape. He's a bit of a clothes snob and even he admitted they outlasted some of the designer brands he wears which never saw a drop of salt water. After numerous holidays they were still good enough to go in the clothes bin for recycling.

But it isn't just people on low incomes that shop at primark. Have a look at YouTube for vloggers such as Zoella doing 'Primark hauls', huge bulging bags of tat, that is far more than anyone would need.

I buy from Primark, but not very often because the quality is often shit and the sizing is all over the place. I've found size 8 too big, and size 12 to small.

OP I think yanbu to object to the disposable culture. I think yabu to implicate Primark in this. Buying in a more expensive shop simply does not translate into longer lasting clothes ime. The items in my wardrobe with the crappiest longevity have often come from the likes of Hobbs, Joules. Most of the kids' clothes were second hand and with a couple of exceptions (jojo maman stuff seems to last well) there is no particular correlation between the amount originally spent and being in a reasonable state to pass on to my niece after they've been through my two. And as people have mentioned, Primark's ethics are no more questionable than much of the high street. So you're just actually objecting to the cheapness itself. But this is a bit odd -would you advocate putting a tax on clothing to makeit more of a luxury purchase? A "minimum price" like with alcohol in Scotland? The trouble with that sort of policy is it has a disproportionate impact- those with lots of money don't have to turn their mind to the same questions of prioritisation - which are supposedly questions of ethics that should apply universally. My mc friends are just as guilty of conspicuous consumption - lusting over new kids' ranges or handbags or whatever. The alternative is to try and educate and lobby for a greater cultural shift. That is possible I think - look at the movement away from single use plastics. It's not got very far yet but it's a start. And the rise in facebook selling sites and ebay do encourage a thriving second hand market - I used to feel in the minority having majority second hand stuff for my kids and to furnish my home but now it feels more acceptable and lots of people do have an eye on resale value when they buy new.

Oh and try their reading glasses....£3!!!

I agree with you but others are the same.

Nomoet, you seem to judge the whole of Primark’s customers based on your narrow worldview. Younger people will tend to shop there every week as they can get ‘stuff’ for less money. I used to as a student, I was always there buying a new t-shirt, underwear or an outfit for going out. It’s also, however, a great source for those with no money to spare, or who don’t want to spend £££ on baby/toddler clothes that may get ruined by sick/poo/messy play. Those people aren’t in ‘every week’, it’s definitely a ‘buy as you need’ situation. As for mass consumerism - we live in a capitalist economy, you don’t ‘buy buy buy’ then the system crashes.

You still haven’t given an example of affordable yet ethical clothing shops - so where do you buy from?

Where I live, 54 percent of children live below the poverty line, where would you like them to get their shoes? Should they walk barefoot to the foodbank?
It's all well and good being green and a responsible consumer from your middleclass ivory tower.

I can comfortably walk into other cheap shops such as Poundland etc as it’s just another store. However for some reason, I can’t go into Primark. I have only been in there a few times with others who wanted to go in there and I just get this really yucky energy come over me and I desperately need to get out of there within 5 seconds. DH got dragged in there with our friend a few months ago and his reaction was the same. There was an article a while ago in the Daily Mail about Primark how things are left all over the floors, underwear multipacks are opened and they take a pair out of it etc. I think that is the “ vibe” I feel being in there. I couldn’t honestly tell you the quality of clothes or prices as I just need to get out of the store asap.

I only buy the kids socks from there, I used to buy clothes for them but just noticed how you wash it once it shrinks or fades. The prices aren’t too much different from H&M and they have better quality clothes. And not mention it’s always a bloody mess in there, I actually feel sorry for the workers.

Right, so the OP is a hypocritical virtue signaller, sitting in her ivory tower and not considering anyone but herself, but the people who are constantly posting about "think about the poor people, where else can they get clothes from" aren't doing their own little bit of virtue-signalling? Righto.

Anyway, it's the disposable aspect of it all which infuriates me the most. The "wear it and bin it". And not just at Primark - it's the amount of total tat and shite which people are encouraged to buy year round. It's killing the planet and "Primark hauls" are disgusting.