Fashion Victims

By Katy While

Everyone's fallen victim to bad fashion choices at some point haven't they? I know I've had plenty! But these misjudged purchases don't matter so much when that t-shirt only cost you £2 and that 'must have' dress set you back less than a tenner. It's thanks to shops like Primark that we can experiment with fashion trends for better or for worse without breaking the bank. But how can shops like Primark afford to provide us eager buyers with clothes that are so on trend at such low prices? Who's paying the cost? Who are the real fashion victims?

Primark are a leading force when it comes to fashion on the high street, often pouncing on new trends before other more prestigious chains have got their wares onto the shop floors. Last spring they had their version of the very popular military jacket in shops just weeks after it was seen on the catwalks and crucially, well in advance of the likes of Topshop and Miss Selfridge. It was also less than half the price of the other shops. If you walk into a Primark store today you will find every high street trend under one roof – nautical, 80's neon, floaty Victorian blouses, floral sun dresses. Quick, affordable, disposable fashion is why we love Primark, but at what cost does it come?

In 2005 Primark was named the least ethical clothes shop in Britain scoring just 2.5 out of a possible 20 on an ethical index that ranks leading clothes chains on criteria such as worker's rights and whether they conduct business with oppressive regimes. The ethical consumer magazine that conducted the survey accused Primark of not having a code of conduct, selling leather goods as well as "environmentally-damaging" PVC products and for operating in an oppressive regime - China. On top of this, 'War On Want' carried out a ground-breaking undercover report entitled Fashion Victims in December 2006. It visited six factories in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, where 2.2 million jobs are dependent on the textile industry. On top of extremely poor working conditions, the report discovered that textile workers were paid a meagre 5p an hour. The average monthly wage is just £9 per month, barely one third of the national minimum wage. Most of our high street shops didn't do much better on the ethical index scale; MK One came second from the bottom with Marks and Spencer third from last.

So what does that mean for those of us that love to finding bargains in fashion forward shops like Primark? Is boycotting these shops really the answer? Surely all this will achieve is the closing down of factories, taking away jobs from local people. What we need is to put pressure on these shops to improve the conditions for the employees in these factories. At the end of the day it's the shoppers that have the power to do this. Because of pressure from us the buyers Marks and Spencer and Primark have both vowed to improve the situation of their supply chain by making big changes to their code of conduct. Both of these retailers are making it easier for us to put our money where our mouths are; Primark have created a range of organic cotton t-shirts, Marks and Spencer have taken huge steps into making their products more ethical for us to buy, and you can even make your own pledges to improve the environment and help third world communities on their website – plana.marksandspencer.com. If you fancy a more active approach, get involved with protests and petitions on peopleandplanet.org. Most of all be aware of where your clothes come from.

To Contact Katy Email:

katywhile@hotmail.co.uk

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