Primark on the Racks 30-09-14

Primark on the Rack

September 30, 2014

• A short summary of the documentary:
• Primark sells its products at extremely low prices. It claims that it treats its workers well and that all of its goods are made in factories. However, this is not the case:
• Primark's products have been found to be made on the streets of India, by both children and adults who are being payed far less than what they should be earning. Primark denied any knowledge of this happening.
• The documentary also brought up the following concerns:
• How is Primark able to sell its clothing at such inexpensive prices?
• It doesn't pay its workers enough, and doesn't treat them properly.
• Just because you buys products that cost more from other companies, are the items that you purchase any more likely to have been produced ethically?
• The less you pay for something, the more likely it is that the people who made it were payed enough (e.g. if something is worth $10, but is sold for only $3, then it is likely that that the workers were payed too little, so that the company could make a greater profit)

• Before the watching the documentary:
• I didn't know many details about this topic, especially in regards to Primark before I watched this documentary. I was vaguely aware that people aren't always treated well or payed enough when they make our stuff. I didn't really know many details about this, and hadn't given it much thought. I especially hadn't thought that stores that I buy things at may not actually treat their workers well, even if they claim to.

• After watching the documentary:
• I am now more aware and conscious of how my stuff was made, who made it, how they made it, and under what conditions. I have no idea how much of stuff has been made under unfair conditions, and it disturbs me to think that there is no good way of knowing for sure. I am also now more aware of how prices correlate with production of a product, I used to think it mainly to do with quality and material, and hadn't really thought about other factors that allow items to be sold at inexpensive prices.

People protesting against Primark:

• Questions that arose after watching the documentary:
• If there are other companies like Primark that lie about the treatment of their workers, then how can you be sure that what you buy was created by people working under good conditions? 
• How many companies are making false claims like Primark's?
• How much of what we purchase has actually been made ethically?
• How I can answer my questions:
• I don't think there is any easy way to find the answers to my questions. there is always the option of doing what the people in the documentary did: Tracking down where your products come from and how they were made. However, this isn't something that I can easily find time or money to do. Therefore it isn't the most realistic solution for me. There is always the option of researching and finding out more about a company, unfortunately you really have no way of knowing if the claims they make are true unless you- or someone else- can find out for yourself. It really all boils down to your own judgment of the company and the products you buy. I think avoiding products that are being sold at prices that don't seem to accurately reflect the item's worth will at least help somewhat. 

The documentary

Images

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/44770000/jpg/_44770602_shirt_composite2_466.jpg 

http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/wpid-article-1308297217697-0c987c9d00000578-734485_466x310.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000697567092/3a370b29d5393058aede8cc017d2c3ee.jpeg

http://static3.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/2000-9/photos/1367690131-may-day-protesters-target-primark_2021899.jpg

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWio7NVOnaI