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British shoppers find 'call for help' messages from sweatshop workers in clothing
Shoppers of retailer Primark were shocked when they allegedly found notes — and in one case, and ID — from workers claiming to be prisoners at a sweatshop, working as many as 15 hours a day making clothes, and eating worse than ‘pigs and dogs.’ Primark said it is investigating the matter.
BY LEE MORAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, June 26, 2014, 9:51 AM
A woman bought a garment at a Primark store in Belfast, Ireland and found a note reading ‘SOS!’ inside one of the pockets.
British shoppers have been left shocked after discovering "call for help" labels from workers stitched inside dresses bought at a popular high street store.
Two women allege to have found the hand-made notes sewn into bargain $17 tops bought from the same Primark outlet in Swansea, Wales.
Another customer in Belfast, Northern Ireland, also claims to have discovered a note from a Chinese prisoner claiming inmates were working 15 hours per day making garments.
The messages are believed to have been attached by workers at the fashion chain's overseas factories.
All refer to "sweatshop conditions" and being forced to work "exhausting hours."
"I was really shocked when I saw the label saying it was degrading sweatshop conditions," said Porthcawl mom-to-be Rebecca Jones, 21, to Wales Online.
"I used to shop a lot at Primark but not so much now. The label has made me think about how my clothes are made," she added.
Rebecca Gallagher, 25, who also found a label sewn into a top bought in the Welsh store, has vowed never to wear it again.
"To be honest I've never really thought much about how the clothes are made. But this really made me think about how we get our cheap fashion," she told Wales Online.
Rebecca Jones found a second label sewn into a Primark product referring to poor working conditions.
"I dread to think that my summer top may be made by some exhausted person toiling away for hours in some sweatshop abroad," she added.
Meanwhile, in Belfast, Karen Wisinska, 28, was stunned to find an SOS letter from a Chinese prisoner — alongside his jail ID card — inside the pocket of her jeans bought from the store.
The note claimed he was working his fingers to the bone and being fed worse than pigs and dogs, reported the BBC.
However, as she did not wear the pants or discover the message until three years after buying them, she believed it may now be too late to help the old man in the picture.
"I was shocked to find this note and card inside the trousers from Primark and even more shocked to discover that it appears to have been made under slave labor conditions in a Chinese prison," the County Fermanagh native told the BBC.
Primark has promised to investigate all three incidents.
"We are investigating the origins of an additional label which has been found in one of our dresses and whether there are issues which need to be looked into," a spokesman said.
British shoppers find 'call for help' messages from sweatshop workers in clothing - NY Daily News
Shoppers of retailer Primark were shocked when they allegedly found notes — and in one case, and ID — from workers claiming to be prisoners at a sweatshop, working as many as 15 hours a day making clothes, and eating worse than ‘pigs and dogs.’ Primark said it is investigating the matter.
BY LEE MORAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, June 26, 2014, 9:51 AM
A woman bought a garment at a Primark store in Belfast, Ireland and found a note reading ‘SOS!’ inside one of the pockets.
British shoppers have been left shocked after discovering "call for help" labels from workers stitched inside dresses bought at a popular high street store.
Two women allege to have found the hand-made notes sewn into bargain $17 tops bought from the same Primark outlet in Swansea, Wales.
Another customer in Belfast, Northern Ireland, also claims to have discovered a note from a Chinese prisoner claiming inmates were working 15 hours per day making garments.
The messages are believed to have been attached by workers at the fashion chain's overseas factories.
All refer to "sweatshop conditions" and being forced to work "exhausting hours."
"I was really shocked when I saw the label saying it was degrading sweatshop conditions," said Porthcawl mom-to-be Rebecca Jones, 21, to Wales Online.
"I used to shop a lot at Primark but not so much now. The label has made me think about how my clothes are made," she added.
Rebecca Gallagher, 25, who also found a label sewn into a top bought in the Welsh store, has vowed never to wear it again.
"To be honest I've never really thought much about how the clothes are made. But this really made me think about how we get our cheap fashion," she told Wales Online.
Rebecca Jones found a second label sewn into a Primark product referring to poor working conditions.
"I dread to think that my summer top may be made by some exhausted person toiling away for hours in some sweatshop abroad," she added.
Meanwhile, in Belfast, Karen Wisinska, 28, was stunned to find an SOS letter from a Chinese prisoner — alongside his jail ID card — inside the pocket of her jeans bought from the store.
The note claimed he was working his fingers to the bone and being fed worse than pigs and dogs, reported the BBC.
However, as she did not wear the pants or discover the message until three years after buying them, she believed it may now be too late to help the old man in the picture.
"I was shocked to find this note and card inside the trousers from Primark and even more shocked to discover that it appears to have been made under slave labor conditions in a Chinese prison," the County Fermanagh native told the BBC.
Primark has promised to investigate all three incidents.
"We are investigating the origins of an additional label which has been found in one of our dresses and whether there are issues which need to be looked into," a spokesman said.
British shoppers find 'call for help' messages from sweatshop workers in clothing - NY Daily News