What’s the real cost of grabbing a bargain from a High Street budget store? It’s possibly a childhood
When you walk into a shop and find clothes on sale for as little as £5, or even less, you have to ask, “How on earth do retailers do it?”
That’s the question MPs put to some of Britain’s biggest high street names when they quizzed them over the so-called “fast fashion” that tempts us to bag a bargain we will likely wear just a few times and then chuck out.
But to cater for this quick turnover of trendy items, some manufacturers are employing workers as young as 14 in their supply chains.
If something looks like a bargain, particularly for youngsters and people on low incomes, then of course it’s going to be attractive so certain outlets are playing into that market.
When we look at the end product we don’t see what has gone into making it.
Plus think of all the problems it is causing for the environment in terms of landfill and of burning products that release gasses into the air from synthetics.
When asked how they can turn a profit on an item produced on the other side of the world that’s being sold in the UK for just a few pounds, retailers will say they don’t have to advertise so they make a saving.
Or they say they have a number of cheaper items in store as loss-leaders to bring people through the doors in the hope they’ll buy other items too.
But it also shows just how inexpensive it can be to get things made in Third World countries in particular, where they are able to use cheap child labour.
You realise not every country is as sophisticated as ours with all our laws and rules. In the absence of those regulations, it’s easy for children to be exploited because there’s nothing to protect them – and that’s to our shame.
It’s not in employers’ interests to stop child labour because their size is often a plus point when it comes to small hands doing little fiddly jobs or even picking cotton, and if they were removed from the workforce then suddenly the adults become stronger in number and in a better place to push for better terms.
All we can do from our end is to raise awareness and, as consumers, be more responsible for what we’re buying, where it’s come from, and what it’s made of.
It’s estimated that last year alone 235 million items of clothing were sent to landfill in the UK, and that proves how often we buy things we don’t need.
I like to go with what my granny used to say: “Buy a classic, with a decent cut and quality fabric and it’ll never go out of date.”