Embroidered T-shirt: Price £4, cost misery

Primark is rightly being exposed over the use of child labour in the finishing of cheap clothes. But as evidence against retailers stacks up, shoppers are kidding themselves if they don't shoulder some of the blame, says Dan McDougall.

The key question behind sweatshop investigations into major corporations like Monday night's Panorama special on Primark is abundantly clear: do consumers, the UK shoppers who spend billions in the High Street, truly care where their £4 hand-finished blouse comes from? The answer, to the shops at least, is yes. And it is reflected in the growth of ethical sourcing policies led by firms like Marks and Spencer's.

A decade ago the duties of a corporation were almost exclusively focused on one thing: profit.

Now, though, corporate social responsibility appears to be in the ascendant.

Child labour: Primark caught out

Guardian Unlimited

Mon Jun 23

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