The Cost of Cheap Clothes

The Queen of England

You can buy the entire contents of your local Penneys shop for under €50 but at what cost?

Yesterday, a building in Bangaldeah - which housed factory workers making clothes for Primark (among others) - collapsed, killing around 100 people.

A statement on the company's website said: "The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all of those involved."

Penneys' parent company Primark said it has been engaged for several years with NGOs and other retailers to review the Bangladeshi industry's approach to factory standards.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0424/385306-bangladesh-building-collapse/

What a load of cock - if these companies had any concerns at all about the safety of the workers who supplied their clothes, then they shouldn't be using them. But of course, they don't give a f*ck as they only thing they are interested in is selling you a pair of knickers for 20cent & making millions off the backs of exploited workers the world over.

F*ck you Penneys - and f*ck your cheap shoddy clothes & cheap shoddy work practices.

Freddy Smelly

The Queen of England wrote: »

You can buy the entire contents of your local Penneys shop for under €50 but at what cost?

Yesterday, a building in Bangaldeah - which housed factory workers making clothes for Primark (among others) - collapsed, killing around 100 people.



http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0424/385306-bangladesh-building-collapse/

What a load of cock - if these companies had any concerns at all about the safety of the workers who supplied their clothes, then they shouldn't be using them. But of course, they don't give a f*ck as they only thing they are interested in is selling you a pair of knickers for 20cent & making millions off the backs of exploited workers the world over.

F*ck you Penneys - and f*ck your cheap shoddy clothes & cheap shoddy work practices.

its not penney's fault that the employer built a shoddy factory without permit in bangladesh

wretcheddomain

The Queen of England wrote: »

F*ck you Penneys - and f*ck your cheap shoddy clothes & cheap shoddy work practices.

I bet your guilty pleasure is buying clothes from Pennies though isn't it? :pac:

jam_mac_jam

Yeah I have to say it makes me think twice about shopping in there. I would rather pay the extra few quid if I can buy made in Europe, although a lot of more expensive clothes are made in those conditions also.

jam_mac_jam

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

its not penney's fault that the employer built a shoddy factory without permit in bangladesh

Of course it is, if they paid enough or demanded certain standards then they would get them.

Banjo String

The Queen of England wrote: »

You can buy the entire contents of your local Penneys shop for under €50 but at what cost?

Yesterday, a building in Bangaldeah - which housed factory workers making clothes for Primark (among others) - collapsed, killing around 100 people.



http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0424/385306-bangladesh-building-collapse/

What a load of cock - if these companies had any concerns at all about the safety of the workers who supplied their clothes, then they shouldn't be using them. But of course, they don't give a f*ck as they only thing they are interested in is selling you a pair of knickers for 20cent & making millions off the backs of exploited workers the world over.

F*ck you Penneys - and f*ck your cheap shoddy clothes & cheap shoddy work practices.

Sour grapes since you lost one of the colonies op?

The Queen of England

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

its not penney's fault that the employer built a shoddy factory without permit in bangladesh

Legally, they may have no responsibilty, but morally they are hugely at fault.

sbsquarepants

The Queen of England wrote: »

What a load of cock - if these companies had any concerns at all about the safety of the workers who supplied their clothes, then they shouldn't be using them. But of course, they don't give a f*ck as they only thing they are interested in is selling you a pair of knickers for 20cent & making millions off the backs of exploited workers the world over.

F*ck you Penneys - and f*ck your cheap shoddy clothes & cheap shoddy work practices.

Fine sentiments, but unfortunately a load of bollix in reality.
Allmost all your clothes, food + electronics were produced using exploited in some cases practically slave labour. That's the world we live in.

racso1975

So which ethical clothes distributor/designer do you use?

BUBBLE WRAP

In fairness Pennys clothes are great ......




























.... If you're homeless...

snubbleste

You cannot buy the entire content of your local Penneys shop for under €50.

Blisterman

Most clothes manufacturers just subcontract to the lowest bidders. I wouldn't be surprised if so called "designer labels" were also being made in the exact same factory.

Freddy Smelly

racso1975 wrote: »

So which ethical clothes distributor/designer do you use?

buy aran sweaters

those poor old pensioners are worked right up until their 90's knitting sweaters


most of them are riddled with arthritis

Yakult

Because big "labels" are not made by cheap labor in poor conditions either.

The Queen of England

snubbleste wrote: »

You cannot buy the entire content of your local Penneys shop for under €50.

I once bought the entire ladies underwear section of Penneys in Louth for 76 cent.

racso1975

snubbleste wrote: »

You cannot buy the entire content of your local Penneys shop for under €50.

Given the op is the queen of england she is prob a step or 2 away from reality

petes

snubbleste wrote: »

You cannot buy the entire content of your local Penneys shop for under €50.

Yeah, it's €55 in Dundalk!

snubbleste

The Queen of England wrote: »

I once bought the entire ladies underwear section of Penneys in Louth for 76 cent.

Picture required for verification.

Death and Taxes

The Queen of England wrote: »

You can buy the entire contents of your local Penneys shop for under €50 but at what cost?

Yesterday, a building in Bangaldeah - which housed factory workers making clothes for Primark (among others) - collapsed, killing around 100 people.



http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0424/385306-bangladesh-building-collapse/

What a load of cock - if these companies had any concerns at all about the safety of the workers who supplied their clothes, then they shouldn't be using them. But of course, they don't give a f*ck as they only thing they are interested in is selling you a pair of knickers for 20cent & making millions off the backs of exploited workers the world over.

F*ck you Penneys - and f*ck your cheap shoddy clothes & cheap shoddy work practices.

Bollox post.
truth is that most of us inthe West are super price concious, and thats all that really matters to us, we are not interested in paying the true economic cost of these goods. If that wasn't the case the Penny's of this world wouldn't be in business.

The Queen of England

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Fine sentiments, but unfortunately a load of bollix in reality.
Allmost all your clothes, food + electronics were produced using exploited in some cases practically slave labour. That's the world we live in.

While this is true, it doesn't negate the fact that there is quite often a huge human cost in the supply of goods & services.

I don't think it's bollox to point that out when a tragedy like this occurs - in fact it's more bollocky to brush it off simply by saying, "That's the world we live in".

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

yeah, those poor bastards working in western owned factories should be out on the street begging for crumbs or prostituting themselves to western sex tourists instead of making a living for themselves. Then we can wake up in the morning and really feel good about ourselves for helping those less fortunate.

snubbleste

Anyone know why 3 lives in Boston are far more newsworthy than 200+ lives in Dhaka

Rescue workers are working with volunteers to free survivors trapped inside the remains of the building. Tens of thousands of weeping family members have gathered at the site. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22289362

Sky King

I don't know why you are acting out at Penny's OP. Ther vast majority of our clothes are made at gunpoint by crying asian children. Even the 'expensive' ones.

At least Penney's have the decency not to stick a crocodile on their shirt in order to justtify a 5000% markup

jam_mac_jam

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

yeah, those poor bastards working in western owned factories should be out on the street begging for crumbs or prostituting themselves to western sex tourists instead of making a living for themselves. Then we can wake up in the morning and really feel good about ourselves for helping those less fortunate.

Or maybe we should pay a couple of cent more for our clothes?

BUBBLE WRAP

Sky King wrote: »

I don't know why you are acting out at Penny's OP. Ther vast majority of our clothes are made at gunpoint by crying asian children. Even the 'expensive' ones.

At least Penney's have the decency not to stick a crocodile on their shirt in order to justtify a 5000% markup

Oh really???

sbsquarepants

The Queen of England wrote: »

While this is true, it doesn't negate the fact that there is quite often a huge human cost in the supply of goods & services.

I don't think it's bollox to point that out when a tragedy like this occurs - in fact it's more bollocky to brush it off simply by saying, "That's the world we live in".

The bollox part is the fúck primark bit.
What are you going to do about it? Are you going to ensure you only buy clothes and shoes from ethicaly sound manufacturers, and pay the prices they require? Are you going to stop drinking coffee or eating chocolate and most fruit. Are you going to stop using your ipod etc - I would suggest you aren't going to do any of those things, you're going to say fúck company x on an internet forum and then carry on as normal. That's what's bollox!

It is the world we live in. I'm just more realistic about it than you are.

ScumLord

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Fine sentiments, but unfortunately a load of bollix in reality.
Allmost all your clothes, food + electronics were produced using exploited in some cases practically slave labour. That's the world we live in.

Not if you buy European, at least then you know that working conditions and pay are at a minimum standard. Most people probably aren't aware there are European standards for just about every product and practice in Europe. These standards ensure that the product will do what it's supposed to do, safely.

Freddy Smelly

nike use child sweat shops in china to make trainers.... they have been doing it for years

if you want to be all ethical then the gov need to ban imports from countries that use child labour to produce goods.


it will never happen cos everyone will bitch about increased costs of goods

Seachmall

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Or maybe we should pay a couple of cent more for our clothes?

And take the only source of income away from these people?

They work in shit conditions because they have no other opportunities. If you close that factory down what do you expect them to do to survive?

ScumLord

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

nike use child sweat shops in china to make trainers.... they have been doing it for years

if you want to be all ethical then the gov need to ban imports from countries that use child labour to produce goods.


it will never happen cos everyone will bitch about increased costs of goods

There could be a simple way around it using the standards though. In the UK some products already require the UK Kitemark to be allowed on the UK market. IE: Electrical plugs. Have a look at any plug in your home it more than likely has the kitemark on it.

Europe could simply require that foreign factories that export into Europe are held to the same standards as European factories. That would include safety standards and employee welfare standards.

SEPT 23 1989

Penneys is great for clothes for young kids

Amirani

snubbleste wrote: »

Anyone know why 3 lives in Boston are far more newsworthy than 200+ lives in Dhaka

Who the hell said they were? Why do you people have to bring this up in every thread?

sbsquarepants

ScumLord wrote: »

Not if you buy European, at least then you know that working conditions and pay are at a minimum standard. Most people probably aren't aware there are European standards for just about every product and practice in Europe. These standards ensure that the product will do what it's supposed to do, safely.

European cocoa beans, or coffee or bananas??
I'm sure it's possible to buy only european manufactured clothes for example with enough dilligence, but then where did the cloth, or the leather come from and so on.
It may be just about possible to avoid aiding exploitation, but it would be far from easy -in fact it's probably beyond the scope and the means of the average person.

ScumLord

sbsquarepants wrote: »

European cocoa beans, or coffee or bananas??
I'm sure it's possible to buy only european manufactured clothes for example with enough dilligence, but then where did the cloth, or the leather come from and so on.
It may be just about possible to avoid aiding exploitation, but it would be far from easy -in fact it's probably beyond the scope and the means of the average person.

We have a problem here though that we think cheap means good value when it rarely does. If you bought the expensive European product it will often outlast 3 or 4 of the imported cheap version of the product. so you're spending more in the long run.

Europe is good at making food and a lot of the basics can be bought from within the EU, when it comes to manufacturing only the Japanese beat us. I don't think it would be too hard to buy the majority of your stuff in Europe.

The Queen of England

sbsquarepants wrote: »

The bollox part is the fúck primark bit.
What are you going to do about it? Are you going to ensure you only buy clothes and shoes from ethicaly sound manufacturers, and pay the prices they require? Are you going to stop drinking coffee or eating chocolate and most fruit. Are you going to stop using your ipod etc - I would suggest you aren't going to do any of those things, you're going to say fúck company x on an internet forum and then carry on as normal. That's what's bollox!

It is the world we live in. I'm just more realistic about it than you are.

It's not that difficult to buy products that are produced by companies that have strict ethical codes for their workers or the workers of their suppliers.

Of course, it's not always possible, but it is possible not to buy your clothes from the likes of Penneys or not to buy an iPod if you so choose.

You seem to think that I'm picking on Penneys randomly - which is not the case considering that around 100 people died yesterday in a building that contained one of their sweatshops.

jam_mac_jam

sbsquarepants wrote: »

European cocoa beans, or coffee or bananas??
I'm sure it's possible to buy only european manufactured clothes for example with enough dilligence, but then where did the cloth, or the leather come from and so on.
It may be just about possible to avoid aiding exploitation, but it would be far from easy -in fact it's probably beyond the scope and the means of the average person.

Just because you move to avoid aiding expoitation in some areas doesn't mean you have to do it in everything you buy all the time. You can make some effort. Its better then sitting back and saying, ah well that's the way of life I am not bothered doing anything if I can't do everything.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

ScumLord wrote: »

Europe could simply require that foreign factories that export into Europe are held to the same standards as European factories. That would include safety standards and employee welfare standards.

and doom many thousands of people in the developing world to starvation, human trafficking, drug abuse and prostitution.

snubbleste

NiallSparky wrote: »

Who the hell said they were? Why do you people have to bring this up in every thread?

Well because there isn't a 40+ page thread on it in AH, rolling 24 hour news coverage and general outrage.

The problem here really isn't Pennys. They don't just build a factory out of cardboard and PVA glue, stick a load of sick, impoverished kids inside and then force them to work to the bone in order to provide us with cheap jeggings, while hoping that the factory doesn't collapse.

These factories exist. If we all boycotted Pennys, they'd still exist, except the income for some of them would be lower and so conditions/pay in those factories would be even worse. Pennys aren't the people to be fighting. There's a reason the majority of these factories are in other countries - there's no enforceable legislation protecting the workers. Whether or not you buy you clothes in Pennys is of very little importance to the issue.

OP, if you really are appalled, maybe you should find a way to do something more constructive than saying "F*ck you Pennys".

ScumLord

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

and doom many thousands of people in the developing world to starvation, human trafficking, drug abuse and prostitution.

They could still be cheaper, they would just have to spend the profits on upgrading their factory rather than the owner spending it on a new rolls royce or extra mansion. It's only the workers that are poor, the people in charge are making obscene amounts of money because they don't have to spend on their infrastructure like we are required to do here in Europe.

Mr Benevolent

Penny's all the goddamn way. I just augmented my wardrobe - 2 pairs of jeans and 2 shirts for €50. Ka-ching!

ScumLord

true-or-false wrote: »

OP, if you really are appalled, maybe you should find a way to do something more constructive than saying "F*ck you Pennys".

Money talks at the end of the day, it's the consumer that has the final say and businesses will follow the money. If consumers demand cheap goods the provider will source the cheapest goods.

The actions of pennies do force terrible working conditions. If the factory tells them they need to spend money on workers conditions Pennies will just move to the next factory that doesn't give a damn about workers conditions and will pay the employee the least, meaning cheaper goods.

The only way to avoid this is for consumers in Europe to spend their money ethically. The 3rd world countries would adapt to meet that demand.

bacon n eggs

tsk ffs sometimes ye just can't afford to be ethical.

1ZRed

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Fine sentiments, but unfortunately a load of bollix in reality.
Allmost all your clothes, food + electronics were produced using exploited in some cases practically slave labour. That's the world we live in.

It's what keeps things cheap. I bet this OP would be complaining if we did away with all that and then had to pay a premium for our stuff as a result. Either way, people won't be happy.

Suck it up OP, that's the world and there will always be exploitation no matter what.

Amirani

snubbleste wrote: »

Well because there isn't a 40+ page thread on it in AH, rolling 24 hour news coverage and general outrage.

How do you know there's not rolling 24 news coverage of this in Bangladesh? I presume there wasn't a significant amount of coverage devoted to Boston on TV over there.

The biggest thread on AH at the moment is "Unpopular Opinions.", is that more newsworthy than either of these events?

looking_around

do something about it then OP, start, searching out where the material comes from, where the clothes is stitched and find the one that pays their workers the best. You gonna do that, are you?

wonderfulname

ScumLord wrote: »

Not if you buy European, at least then you know that working conditions and pay are at a minimum standard. Most people probably aren't aware there are European standards for just about every product and practice in Europe. These standards ensure that the product will do what it's supposed to do, safely.

This sadly isn't always true, 'made in Italy' for example, generally means made in a sweat shop north of Naples by someone working more hours than is legal for less money, you should read/watch Gomorrah. It's just the world we live in, sourcing ethically produced anything takes a bit of effort.

ScumLord

ScumLord wrote: »

Money talks at the end of the day, it's the consumer that has the final say and businesses will follow the money. If consumers demand cheap goods the provider will source the cheapest goods.

The actions of pennies do force terrible working conditions. If the factory tells them they need to spend money on workers conditions Pennies will just move to the next factory that doesn't give a damn about workers conditions and will pay the employee the least, meaning cheaper goods.

The only way to avoid this is for consumers in Europe to spend their money ethically. The 3rd world countries would adapt to meet that demand.

IMHO, while this might work in certain industries, people refusing to buy in Pennys because of sweatshops are only making themselves feel better. They're not actually making any difference.

Arcsin

snubbleste wrote: »

Anyone know why 3 lives in Boston are far more newsworthy than 200+ lives in Dhaka

Because we are much closer in almost every respect to the US than to Bangladesh.

lukesmom

Don't blame penneys. Blame the workers. They should have had one arm holding up the roof and the other on the sewing machines. Tsk standards!

Duggy747

Why do you people talk about this when 4 million martians died today in the intergallactic war of Rigel 8???