AB Foods share price: Primark ethics under fire

Primark, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods (LON: ABF), has launched an investigation after a shopper claimed that her dress contained a label reading “forced to work exhausting hours.”

“You hear all sorts of stories about people working in sweatshops abroad – it made me so guilty that I can never wear this dress again,” Rebecca Gallagher, 25, told The South Wales Evening Post in a report on June 16. The young mother added that the label looked like a “cry for help – to let us people in Britain know what is going on.”
Ms. Gallagher says that following the incident she tried to call Primark but was “put on hold for 15 minutes before being cut off.”

The South Wales Evening post reported today that a second shopper has come forward saying that a Primark top bought in Swansea in 2013 has a label which reads “Degrading sweatshop conditions.”

The Irish clothing retailer is investigating the case. According to Vogue, Primark believes that the label was either added once the dress arrived in the UK, or it was sewn in by a factory worker before it was shipped. Some people have speculated that the incident might be a form of guerilla advertising by campaigners trying to attack big brands.

The budget retailer responded to the claims for Vogue on Monday.

“We find it very strange that this has come to light so recently, given that the dress was on sale more than a year ago, with no other incidents of this kind relating to this dress,” a Primark spokesman said.

“We would be grateful if the customer would give us the dress, so we can investigate how the additional label became attached and whether there are issues that need to be looked into.”