Primark hit by P&P's email action!
Forced child labour, environmental degradation, sweatshop conditions... Activists emailed Primark to get hear what they are doing to improve.
Thousands of children are forced to labour in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan
EJF
We asked Primark a few simple questions…
Can they guarantee that:
- Workers and producers at every stage in their supply chain have their basic rights respected, including the right to a living wage?
- No forced child labour has been used at any stage of production?
- Producers, workers and surrounding communities are not put at risk through environmental destruction or the use of poisonous pesticides?
Will they ensure:
- That their own purchasing practices do not undermine efforts to protect workers´ basic rights?
- That customers are able to access information about the production of their goods?
Shoppers stop to read P&P’s flyers and find out more
SLW/P&P
Will they have any answers?
- P&P groups have visited stores across the country - A few store managers showed us an old statement on ‘ethical trading’, which does nothing to deal with the campaign’s concerns.
- We’ve raised our concerns through the media, including articles in the Observer, Daily Mail, Sunday Mirror, and an interview on Radio 5 Live - Primark were ‘unavailable for comment’.
- 99 people have emailed Primark asking them about what they are doing to improve conditions in their supply chains.
- We have been in correspondence with Primark via letter, explaining our concerns and requesting detailed information about what actions they have taken. While they assure us they have made progress, they have so far been unwilling or unable to provide any detailed information in writing. However, they have promised to address our concerns at a meeting and we’ll keep this page updated with what we find out. You can read P&P’s correspondence with Primark at the main campaign webpage.
We don’t like what we do know…
Primark’s website includes a statement to customers on ethical trading, and their supplier code of conduct. Primark also recently issued a statement in response to an e-action on forced child labour and environmental damage in the production of its cotton.
- Primark is not meeting its code of conduct
Unfortunately Primark is not living up to the conditions detailed in their supplier code of conduct, where it says workers should not be expected regularly to work more than 48 hours a week. Research by Labour Behind the Label recently found workers supplying Primark working 12 to 16 hours a day and cheated out of overtime pay.
- Primark exacerbates exploitation
Primark demands low prices and a quick turnaround in goods from its factories, which leaves suppliers squeezed. How can suppliers decrease working hours and increase wages, at the same time as producing goods more quickly and at a lower cost?
To improve standards, factories need the security of long-term relationships, yet Primark’s contracts with suppliers are short and sometimes even change mid-season. Primark’s statement on ethical trade includes the policy of abandoning suppliers who can’t meet its code of conduct as a positive response to the problem, and it says nothing about the purchasing practices that exacerbate exploitation in its supply chain.
- Primark can’t guarantee that no forced child labour is used to produce its cotton
The Environmental Justice Foundation recently ran an email campaign asking Primark if it could guarantee no forced child labour was used in its cotton. Primark’s response totally failed to address this issue. It merely said it was diffcult to trace where cotton came from.