To Primark or not to Primark

louisaj28

kivsy wrote: »

Ok, forget all the moral stuff here, I have 4 kids, 2 of them are teenagers and they love Primark (we have a huge one here in bristol), they love it because they can afford to buy things with their pocket money. Anyway, because of this I have washed primark clothes for them, the thing is with primark stuff is not how it is made etc etc, but the fact is that the quality is RUBBISH!!!!!!! If you wait a while, you can get some really good quality stuff in Marks and Spencer, Debenhams etc etc in the sales for the same prices, but it will last and wash well.

Dont mean to sound like a snob, but a bargain is only a bargain if it is good quality, no good if you have to throw it away after 2 or 3 washes!!

I agree!

I used to buy clothes from Primark due to the price but I won't be wasting my money there again, nothing lasts, even after one wash their clothes get ruined!

Back to the good old mantra of "you get what you pay for"

Why buy a dress for a tenner that looks great at first, you wear once and it never looks the same again and it ends up getting thrown out. I would rather buy quality clothes for a bit extra that will actually stand the test of time and will be able to wear them again and again AND they will still look good after 10 washes!!

LoneRifle

As far as ethics is concerned, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primark#Criticism seems to indicate that they make some effort to ensure that they don't get rapped for bad labour practices. I take the view of "trust them to keep to their word, and let the activists investigate any problems"

skintbint_2

with having a teenage daughter who changes her mind like the wind,and a son who cant keep knees in his jeans for more than a day i find primark a godsend and would rather but 3 cheap t shirts/pairs of jeans than 1 more expensive, and if we didint buy what would these people do - rummage the dumps for plastic? but i do have agree that the shops have a moral obligation to ensure that the workers are treated fairly and paid fairly in line with the local economic climate

larmy16

Maybe the mens clothes are made of better stuff then? My son has tee shirts we bought from Primark five years ago and they still look the same after umpteem washes. Same with the underpants and socks.

He bought a crombie coat there again around five years ago and it still looks as good as the day he bought it.

I have to steel myself to go to ours as it is so busy and like a jumble sale - I rarely buy clothes for myself but the dressing gowns and pajamas I bought wash very well.

flippin36

Regarding the quality of Primark clothes I have to say that childrens PJ's are far superior than any of the other highstreet where they seem to loose their shape and fade quickly. Although I don't find Primark a pleasant shopping experience, I definitely go out of my way to stock up on certain items. My daughter bought her christmas party outfit from there, rather than Debenhams or Next where we usually go for "special" outfits. We don't have a lot of money at the moment so I was really pleased that she found something in Primark that she liked. She will wear it twice then grow out of it by the time the next party season comes round, saved a fortune!

As far as ethical shopping is concerned I would love to know which shop would be recommended. I was always under the impression that M&S was ethical until they started their own fairtrade range of clothing which begged the question - where does their other clothes come from? I say spend what you can afford.

jane130

I shop there , I can't afford not to if i want to shop outside of sale time .My teenage son has clothes in his wardrobe that i dought 6 months ago and are still looking good - mind you i will never tumble dry anything from primark !

patchwork_cat

I do think that some things are better made than others. My daughter had a really lovely skirt from Primark it looked much more expensive and was lined , but last trip I saw some T shirts where the sleeve edges hadn't been turned at all and would last 1 wash and would unravel ( needless to say we didn't buy them!)

flippin36

Larmy, my OH swears by primark for his work clothes. He has to be smart because he's in management but he sometimes gets a bit grubby because of the type of work he has to do, so doesn't want to ruin good clothes. But the shirts and trousers wash fine and last as long as you would expect work clothes to last.

Violetta_2

Morally I can't spend £90 on a designer T shirt (& where are they made anyway?) I do wish condition's were better for these sweat shop workers I truly do.
I remember watching a programme a while ago & there was a girl of approx 10 (can't remember exactly) she did the beading on dresses for Monsoon & Primark, she wasn't paid any differently for either store, & if she wasn't doing that she would have been sold into prostitution.
I'm not saying that makes it ok though, I don't have all the answers, wish I did.

baby_fuzz

I have shopped at primark, but I always have a pang of guilt when I walk out the door...