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The cost of buying cheap...

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Comments

  • Graham_Devon
    Graham_Devon Posts: 58,560 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    wotsthat wrote: »
    Notice you've picked 4 American companies?

    Funny how you didn't notice it was Generali that picked these companies and it was a direct response to him.
  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,731 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    and drive off on roads that have potholes you could lose a child down.

    Haven't seen potholes there like we have here
  • grizzly1911
    grizzly1911 Posts: 9,965 Forumite
    atush wrote: »
    Haven't seen potholes there like we have here
    Or here.....:(
    "If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....

    "big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham
  • wotsthat
    wotsthat Posts: 11,325 Forumite
    Funny how you didn't notice it was Generali that picked these companies and it was a direct response to him.

    The point stands. British retailers are more interested in ethical trading per se than those in America IMO and are more proactive in dealing with ethical issues.
  • grizzly1911
    grizzly1911 Posts: 9,965 Forumite
    wotsthat wrote: »
    The point stands. British retailers are more interested in ethical trading per se than those in America IMO and are more proactive in dealing with ethical issues.

    I don't know but you are probably right about US care less. Don't they "use" the likes of Haiti?
    "If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....

    "big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Many people don't really have a choice if they need to feed and clothe a family on limited income.

    Give people in those countries a chance to earn a relatively decent income could be seen as offering them opportunity. Perhaps their governments need to legislate to outlaw dangerous working practices.

    We have a dichotomy where in the west we are trying to suppress pay and conditions and in the developed world we need to raise pay and conditions. just think what we can convince them they need to consume, a new market.

    Shouldn't free markets sort this out?

    Yes, free markets will sort this out if consumers take responsibility for what they buy.

    Betamax went by the wayside because people wanted to buy VHS (yeah !!!!!!, ha).

    If you want chickens to have nice lives only buy chickens that have had nice lives. If you want children to die so you can buy cheap clothes then buy clothes from child killers (e.g. New Look and Primark).

    That's the great thing about capitalism. You can vote with your wallet in favour of or against factory owners that want to kill mothers and their children. I tend to vote against that stuff. How will you all vote?
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    wotsthat wrote: »
    The point stands. British retailers are more interested in ethical trading per se than those in America IMO and are more proactive in dealing with ethical issues.

    I call BS on that. It's US consumer groups that have pulled up Nike, Foxconn (Apple) and Gap on how their third party subsidiaries' workers are treated.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    CLAPTON wrote: »
    I'm sure that if the British were still ruling the world, corporate and local governence would be immeasurably better.

    Wasn't all sweets and treats for the locals.
  • CLAPTON
    CLAPTON Posts: 41,865 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    Wasn't all sweets and treats for the locals.


    Indeed that is so; however I was making a serious point that many of the issues of poverty or disasters in third world countries are largely man made due to corruption and poor governance.
  • grizzly1911
    grizzly1911 Posts: 9,965 Forumite
    edited 27 April 2013 at 4:11PM
    Generali wrote: »
    Yes, free markets will sort this out if consumers take responsibility for what they buy.

    Betamax went by the wayside because people wanted to buy VHS (yeah !!!!!!, ha).

    If you want chickens to have nice lives only buy chickens that have had nice lives. If you want children to die so you can buy cheap clothes then buy clothes from child killers (e.g. New Look and Primark).

    That's the great thing about capitalism. You can vote with your wallet in favour of or against factory owners that want to kill mothers and their children. I tend to vote against that stuff. How will you all vote?


    The Betamax VHS battle wasn't about buying exactly the same thing though. VHS was more flexible, cheaper and dependent on available hardware supply. Not dissimilar to the 8 Track v. Comapact Cassette.

    Not quite the same as buying a size 10 T shirt.

    Primark are members of the Ethical Trade Initiative, apparently and to brand them child killers is a pretty big jump in my book as is labelling anyone who purchases their goods a sponsor.

    Primark is part of ABF, a major corporate, listed on the FTSE100 as I am sure you will know, not some back street trader. Something tells me reputation risk is fairly high on their agenda.

    I am sure many "ethical" punters have them in their investment portfolio,wittingly or unwittingly and are happily creaming the profits.

    I am sure many of the practices that mine and produce many of our daily commodities are dangerous, expose people to undue risk, pay a pittance right down to the cotton pickers. That is life.

    Something tells me consumers en masse aren't going to be put off from purchasing Primark any time soon.

    The great thing about capitalism is that it does give you choice but as the driving force is profit above anything else I wouldn't hold my breath expecting ethical decisions to made at any level, for long.

    No I don't buy Primark personally as the styles, sizing and quality wouldn't suit my lifestyle. Not that it really makes that much difference because I really don't know which retailer or brand to trust.
    "If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....

    "big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham
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