Busts 4 Justice

Nevyn

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7501911.stm

M&S defends 'tax on bigger bras'
By Dominic Laurie
Business reporter, BBC News


Marks & Spencer sign

Marks & Spencer has defended a policy of charging extra on some of its bras that are bigger than a size DD.

The High Street retailer said that the added cost - typically £2 - was "standard industry practice".

M&S added it found most customers "were happy to pay a small premium for the specialist work" needed to make larger sizes of their bras.

But the policy has drawn protests with 900 people joining a Busts 4 Justice protest group on the Facebook website.

Its founders argue it is unfair that smaller bras are cheaper, because this logic does not apply to other clothes.

'Unfair tax'

Beckie Williams, 25, from Brighton, said she set up the social networking site group after an "unsatisfactory" correspondence with the retailer.

She said M&S replied to her letter claiming the extra material needed lay behind the higher price at the tills.


If you don't charge a size 20 woman more for a pair of trousers, then why should you pay more for an E cup bra?
Beckie Williams

"That's fair enough," Ms Williams told BBC Radio Five Live. "But they don't apply the same policy to other clothes that use more material and more resources to make as well.

"I just think it should be one policy for all items of clothing."

'Comprehensive collection'

The M&S website advertises the Ceriso Polka Dot Padded Bra for £12, rising to £14 for the version for DD to G sizes.

There are similar differences in price for other ranges, though many of the store's more basic designs cost the same, no matter the size.

M&S said it offered "the most comprehensive DD+ collection and one of the most competitively priced on the High Street" and offered the same choice of colour, styles and shapes for all customers "no matter what size they take".

It also said the majority of its customers had told it they were happy to pay a small premium for the specialist work on larger size bras.

"Our bras are much less expensive than many other specialist larger cup size lingerie retailers, where they could cost around £60 or more," the firm added.

'Never benefited'

Ms Williams said that £2 was not a huge sum to pay but that it was still "an unfair tax".

"This is not something that we have chosen," she said.

"And I have been a size 8 all my adult life, but have never benefited from smaller priced pants.

"If you don't charge a size 20 woman more for a pair of trousers, then why should you pay more for an E cup bra?"

Most of the those posting comments on the Busts 4 Justice site are supportive of the women's efforts.

Ok it is crappy they are charging more but at least they are having the larger sizes made and stocked.

I'm not big up top any more!!! Woohoo!!!
I am loathe to ever go on hormones ever again I can tell you!

But I was always perfectly hapy to spend more on a decent bra.

Thaedydal do you have a link for that website that shows all the real boobs?

what2do

Seems really unfair - I'm sure if M&S started charging extra for larger size clothes there would be uproar that this was discrimination against "bigger" people ... and the whole debate - what is classed as large - size 12?? Nowadays 34E is by no means unusual.... plus 34DD and 32E prob use a similiar amount of material so is this discrimination against the 32E!

Quality

Next do the same with kids clothes... not one hundred percent sure on the sizes but it goes something like this

age 3-7 €10 age 8 plus €13...

Bit of a joke really..

Reku

Well I would have to side with the consumer group regarding the extra material arguement, T-shirts tend to be priced the same regardless of whether they are S/M/L/XL and that would be a much greater difference in material than for a bra.
What the group really needs to do though is price check briefs, is a size 16 more expensive than a 12, etc... seems comaparable enough in terms of general material levels to me.

Is this pricing thing why so many women seem to wear clothing that's a bit too small for them?:P

Jules

Sorry to drag o/t a bit but my major beef is the whole bar/cup/size is back size thing, i have a broad back and find very very, very difficult to get pretty bras. Even in M&S!

Pennys have just started doing a cheap and frilly range in broad back sizes Jules.

WindSock

Do smaller shoes cost less than larger sizes?

Thats a tax thing, they consider under size 5 to be a childs size.

Reku

WindSock wrote: »

Do smaller shoes cost less than larger sizes?

Certainly for any in the size range I look at for runners they don't.

Dizzyblonde

I'm a DD and just under the threshold, but I agree with Thaedydal - it's great to even be able to find the larger sizes.
And to be honest, there's probably twice as much fabric in a DD that an A cup!

Reku

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'm a DD and just under the threshold, but I agree with Thaedydal - it's great to even be able to find the larger sizes.
And to be honest, there's probably twice as much fabric in a DD that an A cup!

:eek:
Seriously?
Clearly I don't pay enough attention to breasts (I'm too old to change at this point though and have no intention of trying as it's not a trait female friends would prefer me to have AFAIK), thought it might be a little extra material, never thought double....

Dizzyblonde

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'm a DD and just under the threshold, but I agree with Thaedydal - it's great to even be able to find the larger sizes.
And to be honest, there's probably twice as much fabric in a DD that an A cup!

There is a huge difference in the supportiveness of the fabric too.
Or at least if it is a good bra there should be.

MJOR

farohar wrote: »

Well I would have to side with the consumer group regarding the extra material arguement, T-shirts tend to be priced the same regardless of whether they are S/M/L/XL and that would be a much greater difference in material than for a bra.
What the group really needs to do though is price check briefs, is a size 16 more expensive than a 12, etc... seems comaparable enough in terms of general material levels to me.

Is this pricing thing why so many women seem to wear clothing that's a bit too small for them?:P

No thats denial! lol

Jules

Moonbaby wrote: »

Pennys have just started doing a cheap and frilly range in broad back sizes Jules.

How broad we talking?

Bottle_of_Smoke

Anyone protesting about this really needs to find a better way to deal with their real issues.

What's the problem here? More fabric, more cost.... Bigger women should have to pay more for bigger clothes too.

spinandscribble

i might be a 34E but i'm certainly not a 'big' woman. at first i was pissed off reading this but it sortof makes sense. it wouldn't be good if the started on clothes though, alot of pissed off women.

Jules

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Anyone protesting about this really needs to find a better way to deal with their real issues.

What's the problem here? More fabric, more cost.... Bigger women should have to pay more for bigger clothes too.

We do and plus there are very few shops that stock, nice +size cloths!

Nevyn

and those that do which lets face it is evans aka the fat shop charge a lot more per item.

Jules

Jules wrote: »

How broad we talking?

I'll check tomorrow.

They have to have up to 42 at least.

Blush_01

Thaedydal wrote: »

and those that do which lets face it is evans aka the fat shop charge a lot more per item.

In addition to that, their clothes usually seem to be of far inferior quality to anything of comparable price. Arcadia's other shops stock similar styles, better made and more reasonably priced.

iguana

Tbh, the whole thing is to do with supply and demand. I'm a (hormone free) 32F/FF and in the past I've had a very hard time finding bras. I generally have to pay quite a premium for them in department stores if I'm lucky enough to find my size. Or in specialist stores like Bravissimo, which is great for choice, but neither are cheap.

M&S are pretty much the first high st store in the UK to do a DD+ range. So I can now buy from them or buy from specialists and they are cheaper. So I certainly check their range first when I need new bras despite the fact that their DD+ size is limited and more expensive than their normal bras. I know I'm being ripped off, but my choice is to get ripped off by them, or go to a more expensive specialist.

However if another high st store started selling a bigger cup size range then M&S would drop their prices too as bigger chested women would flock to the cheaper bras. They don't charge more for larger clothes because nobody else does and if they did all their customers would just move elsewhere. But bra customers have nowhere else to go.

On an aside I find M&S DD+ bras to be fairly hideous. They're mostly all made from a thicker material cup, similar to a strapless bra with straps. The plain ones are ok, but many of the "sexy" ones just look like comedy boobs. They don't look so bad on, but they keep shape when not worn and look stupid. It's hard to judge from this picture as it's being worn, but imagine this bra on a hanger.:eek: