The Devil Wears Primark: Another dose of reality TV sweatshops
Hot on the heals of BBC3′s ‘Blood Sweat and T-Shirts‘, comes Channel 4′s ‘The Devil Wears Primark‘, which is being broadcast on Sunday June 1st at 9.00pm.
Like ‘Blood Sweat and T-Shirts’ the shows concerns the working conditions of Indian workers making clothes for Britain’s low cost fashion industry. These include poor health and safety, low wages, excessive overtime, discrimination, physical abuse and even child labour.
The format is expected to be similar to the BBC3 show. The programme makers use undercover footage from factories which are allegedly producing for Primark, combined with interviews with workers and former workers. In a new twist on the ‘reality sweatshop’ theme, the programme will show host Alexa Chung’s sweatshop which was set up in London’s West End staffed by 15 volunteer members of the public.
With the increasing downward pressure on prices of clothing, Primark is an easy target for criticism. In December 2006 the War on Want report ‘Fashion Victims‘ found workers making clothes for Primark working eighty-hour weeks for 5p an hour, forced overtime and potentially deadly working conditions in Bangladesh. A 2007 update with Labour behind the Label found very little improvement. Primark is the leading low-cost fashion retailer and as such has become synonymous with the argument that low cost at the point of purchase means poor wages in the factory. There is some evidence that Primark are moving to improve this image, joining the Ethical Trading Initiative in 2006 and developing a new strategy for ethical trade.
On balance we thought that the Blood Sweat and T-shirts programme, whilst including a large dose of ‘reality TV’ drama, raised some relevant issues, and dealt with them sensitively. We eagerly await the results of Channel 4′s effort.
12 Comments
Why isnt it on 2nite now? theres a film on instead :@
Really looking forward to this programme but it looks like it has been pulled for any broadcast. Anybody any ideas why??
im really confused as i wanted to watch devil wears primark…but i tuned into channel 4 at 9pm. And to my suprise without a paddle was on instead. There was nothing on the TV saying that there was a change. Im really confused.?!?
Does anyone know when it will be on TV??
Eagerly awaited the advertised programme only to be told at last minute it was changed. I believe I would judge fairly for myself according to the quality of the programme and its evidence and then I get very annoyed that there seems some gagging of whatever it was going to say. And are we in a state where business can stop any damaging report into its conduct – that there’s no freedom to try to tell the truth?
Maybe it wasn’t gagging of what the show was going to say or expose, maybe it was that it isn’t just Primark who are the culprits or indeed maybe the programme makers didn’t have enough evidence to convict Primark of their supposed crimes. Has anyone thought that perhaps Primark take a much lower margin than the rest of the high street retailers & buy in much larger volume and thus are able to retail at a lower price? Perhaps Alexa Chung, advocate of Topshop, had a nasty surprise about her favourite high street brand?
[...] much publicised ‘Devil Wears Primark’ show off air. We are hugely disappointed, as we were eagerly looking forward to the show. We had anticipated some excellent in-factory footage and thought that the use of a [...]
i think primark paid channel 4 to boycot the programme, not happy
It was pulled as they discrinimated against one company even tho the same factorys makes clothes for pretty much every retailer. It has only been post-poned but the programme that gets aired is likely to have been heavily edited to show both sides of the story as it is unfair to show just the problems and none of the work being done to help these countries
see Mardi Gras: Made in China it’s about a similar topic. DVD is on Amazon.com
The reason the show was not aired last sunday was because Primark as a company needed 10 days to be able to brief their staff about the show and the relevant response to make about the programme to any customers.Working at Primark myself I have been told repeatedly that Primark is an ethical company and that we pay the workers in those countries fairly. I have on may times been asked to sign contacts saying that i am aware of the reasons why we are ethical and i hope that this programme shows a balanced and unbiased approach to our company and we are not the only highstreet shops to purchase our stock from these factories. Cant wait to see the show.
Boo Primark I used to Love Primark it. But No more!!
Wow really impressed by the number of people who commented on this post