Sometimes... I Hate This World...

[Raffles]

The disaster in the Bangladesh clothing factory today, making cheap clothes for ******* (you know who if you've read the news!) and others, shows so clearly how we exploit those who cannot stand up for themselves.

The world has literally gone mad... a footballer (on mega money, Which he'll still get paid under suspension) complains of unfair treatment when he did an indefensible act, and then we've got people who are struggling to survive, making clothes for pennies in unsafe conditions, which our 'great' companies make mega bucks out of and yet champion 'value for money'.

It all makes me literally, sick!

[Mary]

Totally agree Raffles, the world has gone mad, its all a sad state of affairs.

[Chrissie]

I completely know what you mean Raffles

However, there are still so many good people who do care.

[Raffles]

Apr 24, 2013 21:37:58 GMT Chrissie said:

I completely know what you mean Raffles

However, there are still so many good people who do care.

Yes Chrissie, there are many of us, but are we prepared to put our credit card away and boycott those stores that use these suppliers? It opens such a big pit, and would it do any good? We don't buy their goods so they close up and their people have nothing. I just wish I knew the answer, but I'm sure part of it is that our politicians, not just in this country, have a vested interest in these affairs and would put blocks in any answer if it affected their income.

[ausfost]

Apr 24, 2013 21:37:58 GMT Chrissie said:

I completely know what you mean Raffles

However, there are still so many good people who do care.

unfortunately not as many as there are people who will purchase clothing as cheap as possible, though with people struggling on a tight budget it is hard to judge them for spending wisely.

i don't want to open a can of worms here, but i do wonder about the conditions of the workers making our tanks, clearo's etc etc, and i must hold my hands up and state that i will gladly purchase a cheap clearo if it saves me a few of my hard earned pennies.

[markm]

I would be looking to their construction industry, rather that the rag trade, hard to make tower blocks out of cloth.

[madwill]

If everyone boycotted those stores those people would be in an even worse position, they are suppliers to the stores people not buying from the stores means the stores not buying from the suppliers,
As has been said its not the stores fault the building was sub standard its the people running/owning the factory/building.

[womble]

Apr 24, 2013 21:48:35 GMT Raffles said:

Apr 24, 2013 21:37:58 GMT Chrissie said:

I completely know what you mean Raffles

However, there are still so many good people who do care.

Yes Chrissie, there are many of us, but are we prepared to put our credit card away and boycott those stores that use these suppliers? It opens such a big pit, and would it do any good? We don't buy their goods so they close up and their people have nothing. I just wish I knew the answer, but I'm sure part of it is that our politicians, not just in this country, have a vested interest in these affairs and would put blocks in any answer if it affected their income.

We do our best, but we only have a certain budget for everything. Local veg, meat, fish, the list is never ending really if you want to do good in everything. We can't boycott everything Chinese or Indian/Bangladeshi.
I thought even some higher end suppliers used this type of company? It can't just be the one company that uses them, almost everyone uses Chinese made clothing. How are we supposed to know which are the worst?
Primark stuff I find very badly made, cheap materials and poor value anyway tbh.

[womble]

Apr 24, 2013 22:01:31 GMT madwill said:

If everyone boycotted those stores those people would be in an even worse position, they are suppliers to the stores people not buying from the stores means the stores not buying from the suppliers,
As has been said its not the stores fault the building was sub standard its the people running/owning the factory/building.

I know that some of the factories over here would be hardly better, I know because my Dad was in the rag trade and it's been revealed occasionally on tv. Yes they were ignoring all laws, but I suspect these foreign factories were as well.

[OneDay]

Any decent retailer audits their suppliers these days. It is, however, easy enough to show your customer your best site or best practices on audit day. Just look at how all our top food retailers got caught out with horse meat. We could all shop at Harrods or Fortnums or wherever, and still have no guarantee that the items we're buying were made in safe, legal, hygienic etc circumstances. With a global, market-driven economy there will always be people cutting corners and looking to make a quick buck unfortunately. I wish I had an answer.

[Raffles]

Apr 24, 2013 22:01:31 GMT madwill said:

If everyone boycotted those stores those people would be in an even worse position, they are suppliers to the stores people not buying from the stores means the stores not buying from the suppliers,
As has been said its not the stores fault the building was sub standard its the people running/owning the factory/building.

As I said in an earlier post, boycotting them would probably make thing worse for the local population, BUT there are things that our 'great' companies can do in making sure their suppliers are working in a safe environment. They are making a lot of moolah out of them, and we've seen how 'some' are a little lax in the recent 'horse meat' scandal regarding their suppliers. That was a 'wake up call' to most, and I think this should be similar.

If our stores want to make a profit, then they should move 'heaven and earth' to ensure their products have been been made in an ethical, safe and truly competitive environment. If not, then their own disaster awaits them!

[womble]

Apr 24, 2013 22:19:20 GMT Raffles said:

Apr 24, 2013 22:01:31 GMT madwill said:

If our stores want to make a profit, then they should move 'heaven and earth' to ensure their products have been been made in an ethical, safe and truly competitive environment. If not, then their own disaster awaits them!

There are lots of those companies out there already, they aren't usually very big, for a very good reason, not many people can afford to shop there.

[Raffles]

Apr 24, 2013 22:14:27 GMT OneDay said:

Any decent retailer audits their suppliers these days. It is, however, easy enough to show your customer your best site or best practices on audit day.

One reason why it should NEVER be a pre-arranged visit... just look at what's occurred at the Godolphin horse racing stables. A random test has exposed a major scandal.

[Raffles]

Apr 24, 2013 22:23:56 GMT womble said:

There are lots of those companies out there already, they aren't usually very big, for a very good reason, not many people can afford to shop there.

NO... I agree... But the BIG companies CAN... and it's got to start somewhere. Or else I think it will bite them in the 'bum'

[womble]

Apr 24, 2013 22:32:51 GMT Raffles said:

Apr 24, 2013 22:23:56 GMT womble said:

There are lots of those companies out there already, they aren't usually very big, for a very good reason, not many people can afford to shop there.

NO... I agree... But the BIG companies CAN... and it's got to start somewhere. Or else I think it will bite them in the 'bum'

A nice thought, but most people aren't that interested. Sad but true fact.