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primark have been employing child labour...

100 replies

wannaBe · 22/06/2008 12:24

without their knowledge of course

. Maybe it's just a case of when you buy any clothes you do so in the knowledge that someone will have been exploited to make them?

OP posts:
auchtermuchty · 22/06/2008 19:19

Expat my generation were expected to work picking tatties and berries in the holidays, some did it for pocket money, but I know most did it because they had to, that is how I paid for my school uniform when I was at school! I am 34.

KerryMum · 22/06/2008 19:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Monkeytrousers · 23/06/2008 08:13

I agree about people on the breadline not thinking about it - it's the decision makers at Primark (and H&M etc for that matter!) that should take the wrap. I mean these people have held meetings in plush boardrooms to discuss this and decided to do it!

Monkeytrousers · 23/06/2008 08:15

It's like the BSE things a bit - if people has been consulted and asked, 'would you like the cows to be fed the,selves to lower costs' pretty much everyone would have said, 'are you mental!'

stuffitllama · 23/06/2008 09:08

It's not necessarily a decision at the top. I haven't seen the programme but it could be a corrupt inspector of conditions or a corrupt factory manager.

wannaBe · 23/06/2008 09:19

or it could just be that the factory don't have the capasity to do the certain bits such as sewing on the buttons etc and have outsourced to a company whose practices are not so ethical.

And maybe there isn't a decision as such to use children, it's more a case of ignorance is bliss. If you don't knowingly employ child labour, you can say that you don't employ child labour and then act when it comes to light that your employees, ie the factory manager, has outsourced certain elements of your production to a company who does employ child labour.

OP posts:
Pruners · 23/06/2008 10:05

Message withdrawn

auchtermuchty · 23/06/2008 11:16

you are right pruners, about it not being on a par with these kids working from such a young age - though I did start picking tatties when I was 7, £5 a day for a half bit, it was slave labour if you ask me... but that was for 2 weeks of the year, the berries were never as hard...

I think this is a hard one to fix, there are lots of people who can't afford to buy clothes that are ethically made, even if they want to, but there are also lots of people who buy lots of clothes cheaply because they are interested in fashion and not in who makes their cheap clothes.

Monkeytrousers · 23/06/2008 13:20

it's all about money, of course its a companyt policy. I think yo think anythingf else is being very naive, to say the least.

MsDemeanor · 23/06/2008 13:21

This is one of those news stories you hear and think 'no shit, sherlock'.
You can't make dresses for £4 without lots of people being exploited. MInid you Gap do it and charge a lot more.

seeker · 23/06/2008 13:23

The sun rises in the East.
Chocolate is delicious.
Sleeping babies always wake up when you put them down.
It always rains when you've just had your hair done.
Bread and butter falls butter side down.
Primark employs child labour.

kiddiz · 23/06/2008 14:33

Expat you're right. We are another family v worried how we are going to heat our home this winter and run the car dh needs to get to work (no public transport to his work place...we would sell the car if there was). I would love to shop for everything with a clear conscience but sadly I can't afford to do so.

donnie · 23/06/2008 14:39

agree with seeker. Anyone who is surprised by this 'news' must have been living in la-la land.

seeker · 23/06/2008 15:00

You can shop with a clear conscience, at least as far as clothes go. Shop at charity shops.

kiddiz · 23/06/2008 15:17

But surely clothes in charity shop may have been produced in sweat shops too?
Personally I don't go to Primark because it's like a jumble sale and I hate shopping enough already without putting myself through that, But I have always realised that cheap clothing means relatively poor wages for those making them. Otherwise how can big retailers now be selling school uniform cheaper than when my eldest started school 15 years ago. I have certain levels which my budget allows me to have..But when my dd needs new uniform for high school in September sadly price will be more important than where it was made and if I can get her anything second hand to fit I will.

expatinscotland · 23/06/2008 15:21

there is only one charity shop in the town nearest us.

it's 13 miles away.

not a reliable source of clothing for kids.

any hand me downs we definitely appreciate, and there is a textile recycling bank about 9 miles away.

i also use some spare bits of too worn stuff to practice my sewing so hopefully can learn to sew a bit better.

seeker · 23/06/2008 15:29

They may have been made in sweatshops but you aren't supporting the big business interests by buying them from a charity shop - the money goes to the charity, not the multi-national.

There's always ebay if there aren't any charity shops near at hand?

Second hand has lots of advantages - it keeps stuff out of landfill too. And it doesn't contribute to the planet destroying industries that produce new stuff.

expatinscotland · 23/06/2008 15:47

i don't use ebay after being scammed by a rogue buyer about a year ago and it certainly isn't cheap.

besides, DD1's shape and height are such that i usually need to try things on her before buying them.

jojosmaman · 23/06/2008 15:55

Agree with Wannabe, this is exactly right. More often than not, the beadwork/ handwork is done by "outworkers" usually women and since the majority of these women have young children they are not able to work in a factory under factory conditions so the work is sent to the house. There are not many factories I know of in India that do beading on site unless it is machine embroidery/ beading which is quite rare (and considered less desirable by consumers).

I have visited textile factories in both India and China but obviously when I go, there are no children around and there are plenty of signs up saying "we don't employ children under the age of 16" but this is not to say that these factories do not use outworkers.

Another point, Primark uses factories that Gap, French Connection, Toast and other more expensive brands use so they are not necessarily using factories who make cheap clothing and therefore have unethical standards, they are just bigger players, buy bigger, have less overheads and have lower margins.

As others have said, as sad as it is we cannot impose our western ideals on to these countries, i suppose the first step could be regulation, so children are allowed to work but have to spend a certain numbers of hours at school/ in play but I don't know how easy this would be. What we have to remember is that it is not necessarily corrupt factory managers or owners who are pushing the children to work, rather the families who will get paid for buy the qty of work done and so will get all hands on deck to earn more money than the family.

devonblue · 23/06/2008 18:00

I'm not really sute what point people are making when they say that children used to work in Britain until recently? I keep thinking that they mean that it's ok for children to work, eg, in factories for Primark.

Is that what's meant, or am I missing the something?

expatinscotland · 23/06/2008 18:36

No, that's not what is meant.

What was pointed out is that children not working is a relatively recent Western concept.

devonblue · 23/06/2008 18:43

I think people should buy stuff in Primark or any high st clothing store if they want to. There are lots of things that are unfair in the world and you have to pick your battles, but I find it slightly unsettling to hear what almost sounds like justification for doing it.

It's one of the most close to home issues for us - literally. We have children and we dress them in clothes that may have been made by other children, perhaps even younger than our own. It's a hard thing to look at unblinkingly. I think it adds insult to injury to try to justify it to ourselves or others.

RTKangaMummy · 23/06/2008 19:02

£££££££££££££££££££££££££$

WATCH PANARAMA ON BBC1 TONIGHT

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

TheDevilWearsPrimark · 23/06/2008 19:04

Need I say anymore

Aefondkiss · 23/06/2008 19:42

I keep thinking of that saying.... there is no such thing as bad publicity

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