Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Primark shopper finds 'cry for help' stitched into her £10 dress

Dress from a Primark store in Swansea reportedly contained a label reading 'forced to work exhausting hours'

Kunal Dutta
Monday 23 June 2014 19:08 EDT
Comments
The dress contained a label reading “forced to work exhausting hours”
The dress contained a label reading “forced to work exhausting hours” (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Primark is poised to investigate after a shopper claimed that she found a label stitched inside a dress drawing attention to exploitative work conditions.

Rebecca Gallagher, 25, claims that a £10 dress that she purchased from a Primark store in Swansea contained a label reading “forced to work exhausting hours”. The mother said that the message was written on one of a number of stitched labels which gave Primark addresses in Spain and Ireland along with washing instructions. “You hear all sorts of stories about people working in sweatshops abroad – it made me so guilty that I can never wear that dress again,” she told The South Wales Evening Post. Ms Gallagher claims that she attempted to call the retailing giant and was “put on hold for 15 minutes before being cut off”. She added: "I dread to think that my summer top may be made by some exhausted person toiling away for hours in some sweatshop abroad."

A spokesman for Primark said: "We would be grateful if the customer would give us the dress, so we can investigate how the additional label became attached and whether there are issues which need to be looked into.

"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."

It is the latest ethical setback for the retailer since the Rana Plaza factory disaster in 2013 (video below), in which more than 1,000 people died in Bangladesh in a tragedy that raised questions about labourers the cut-price clothing for Primark and other Western clothing retailers.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in