Ctrl.Alt.Shift went to London’s shopping mecca, Oxford Street, to chat to people about whether the appalling conditions of those who make high street clothes will influence where they will be buying their presents this Christmas time. A new report says that workers in developing countries who make clothes for Primark get paid as little as 7p an hour - this works out at about £19 a month, while workers say they would need about £45 a month just to feed their families and pay for clean water, shelter and other basics. Given that the cost of rice alone has gone up by 70% in the last two years, there's not even enough money to put food on the table.

We asked our youth where they were planning on buying the majority of their gifts this year, and followed this up by asking whether they were aware about the conditions of the people who produce Primark’s wares. We wanted to know how this made people feel, and whether it would affect their decision making when it came to choosing where to shop in the future.
 
Tereza, 21:
“This Christmas I will be getting most of my stuff from shops like Zara and Topshop and I also get a lot of my clothes from charity shops. Yeah I study fashion so we are taught about how certain brands misbehave and Primark have been focused on in the past. I sympathise with the situation loads, but at the same time there is a need for work in these countries and the people need money, so that sort of gives it another perspective - I still do think they should get paid more though.”

Demonsabert, 24:
“This year I’ll be doing my Christmas shopping here on Oxford Street, probably at Topshop and Gap. I haven’t heard about people who make clothes for Primark getting 7p an hour, but I’ve heard about other places like Gap. I think it’s bad, and I try not to buy clothes that are made in China or in bad conditions, but when you’re a student you don’t have much to spend, so no, it wouldn’t stop me shopping there.”

Matt, 22:
“I do my Christmas shopping at Camden market. My family is in Canada so it’s expensive to send things back. I have to get small, meaningful presents. I didn’t know that Primark workers have such bad conditions, but I kind of assumed because the clothes there are so cheap. I have mixed opinions about those clothes, because I’ve seen documentaries that say that hundreds of people there wouldn’t make anything if these factories weren’t there, but on the other hand I know the pay is so low. I’m torn. I don’t normally shop in Primark anyway, because I like independent shops, but I’m poor as fuck so if I needed something simple like dress pants then I might do. Knowing about the conditions wouldn’t stop me.”

Andrew,17:
“I’m planning to do my shopping up Oxford Street this Christmas, nowhere in specific to be honest, anywhere where there’s a decent sale on - I didn’t know Primark carried out bad practice like this, although I had heard about Nike doing it in the past. I don’t really shop there anyway but I think information like this makes me less likely to shop there but at the same time with the credit crunch right now, if I’m really low on cash I probably would still shop there, but it does change my perception.”

Paul, 23:
“I’m planning to do all my shopping online this Christmas, it's a lot cheaper and easier. I didn’t know anything about Primark doing this stuff and its really bad, considering how nationally popular the shop is. Surprisingly my perception of Primark has really changed and I think I’m even less likely to shop there now than I was before. However I don’t think it will make that much of a difference to the rest of the public.”

Dean, 17:
“I buy most of my shopping online these days, I didn’t know Primark were guilty of this sort of behaviour although I had heard in the past about Nike and adidas acting like this. It makes you feel bad when you think about how popular the store is and how much suffering it is causing to disadvantaged kids in poorer countries. I would definitely consider shopping somewhere else that doesn’t exploit its workers.”

Interviews: Kevin Perry, Dwain Lucktung, Ben Anderson.
 

Photo: Flickr user Vicki Morris