Have you ever wondered what it costs to make the clothes you wear everyday?
Apparently someone at British retail line Primark, wanted the consumers to know.
A customer purchasing a dress from the brand found the hand-stiched message “Forced to work exhausting hours” on the the inner label where the washing machine instructions should be. Today another woman has come forward after purchasing a top from the same brand, the words “Degrading Sweatshop Conditions” were sewn into her top.
The recent discoveries have brought up concerns about the work conditions for the Primark brand, and other brands. According to Primark, who recently paid ten million in compensation to the victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, their clothing factories adhere to safe and fair work conditions.
In a statement to Vogue magazine, Primark states:
“Primark’s code of conduct sets out the core principles that suppliers and factories must follow to ensure products are made in good working conditions, and that the people making them are treated decently and paid a fair wage. We inspect each factory to ensure it is meeting the code and support it by providing guidance and training when issues are identified. Primark is a member of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), and our code is based on the ETI base code.”
The statement did little to ease people’s guilt, the customer, Rachel Gallager stated:
“You hear all sorts of stories about people working in sweatshops abroad — it made me feel so guilty that I can never wear that dress again. I dread to think that my summer top may be made by some exhausted person toiling away for hours in some sweatshop abroad”.
Primark plans to open it’s first U.S. store in Boston next year.
-Alexandria Tribble (@Y_iOuwta)
