Alas, we say goodbye to the fast-fashion monster of our age. Irish retailer, Primark, opened the doors of its first store in Dublin back in 1969. Stealing the hearts of high-street shoppers and fashion lovers, Primark’s flagship store in London sold over a million items in the first 10 days of opening. That’s a lot of poor-quality socks. With 373 locations, the bargain hunters worldwide are truly devastated by the loss of such an affordable store. Buying a shirt for two dollars isn’t easy today and who cares how it was made anyway?
Primark, you were ever so good at copying the looks of higher-end brands and selling them for next to nothing. With an ability like no other to rip off classic designs, no one with a genuine respect for fashion will be sad to see you go. Vogue may have given one of your jackets “high-end credibility” but I guarantee you weren’t the first to develop it.
Gladly taking advantage of the developing world, people would describe your brand as greedy, unethical, cheap, and unsustainable as you use what limited resources we have left to produce millions of garments, most of which end up in landfills. BBC’s Panorama Programme gave evidence that three of your clothing suppliers were subcontracting child labourers from Southern India refugee camps, but we all make mistakes, right? Though you tried and tried to enact sustainable acts and ethical organizations, it was likely to cover up the fact that you were one of the retailers employing the Rana Plaza garment factory that collapsed back in 2013 killing 1,100 workers and injuring 2,500. In response to a question regarding how comfortable you were with the conditions in your factories, a spokesperson from your ethics team said in their opinion, “If you accept the developing world, you accept, the risks in buying anything from the developing world.”
May your stores burn down to the ground in the chemical dumpster fire of a fast-fashion brand that you are.
With a lack of love, see you in hell, Kaeleigh