Actually, that last post has me seething.
I've held off posting this but ...
"Great reputation for protecting workers"
Make that some workers.
One of my family worked for M and S. She was doing outsourced work - because, like most companies, M & S outsource a lot of the hidden labour.
You know all those tights you buy? Thery're all packaged by hand. they're tested - by hand - for runs and imperfections, carefully folded (to strict specifications) - by hand, they're then packaged - by hand. All to strict guidelines - with payment withheld if it isn't done correctly.
All for pennies - fractions of pennies. With RSI being the hidden cost for the packagers.
And, sure, M and S probably have better guidlelines for the treatment of those workers than some, and sure, it's probably more expensive to have that done in the UK than somewhere overseas with child labour. But make no mistake - it's still extraordinarily low-paid, hard-labour - and exploitative (even though, technically, people have a 'choice' about doing it).
It's about shades of exploitation.
I'm not sure I buy the "We must protect M & S at all costs by spending our money on horrible clothes - it's a kind of charity" line.
It isn't a charity. It's a business. Its business is selling stuff at a profit. The problem it currently has, at the moment, is that a lot of us don't want to buy the clothes it sells . That isn't a moral failing on our part. So please, with respect, don't try and guilt trip me into feeling as though it is.