Primark is a well known clothing brand in the United Kingdom. It has over 200 shops in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, and Belgium.
Possibly one of the worst business ethical issues, child labor is still taking place. In June 16, 2008, BBC posted an article on Primark’s move to a more ethical business, firing 3 Indian suppliers for using child labor. 41.6% of India is predicted to be below the international poverty line, which is at 1.25$ per day; thus cheap labor would be easy to find in the country. Primark, however, does not support such harassment of children.
“The sub-contracting involved home working and in some intances children were also found to be working at home” Primark explains and continues to say that “we take this lapse in standards very seriously indeed.”
Firing the three suppliers only affected 0.04% of the garments world wide. Although there was a loss of supply, this movement has possibly benefited Primark, giving them a reputation of an ethical company which “consumers are increasingly demanding” according to BBC. Therefore, the seemingly beneficial unethical shortcut of having cheap child labor in poverty stricken countries such as India may not be as beneficial as companies may believe.
Nike, which had a well known past of having suppliers who used child labor in the 1990s, is now posting records of there suppliers to acquire the reputation of an ethical firm, which is with time becoming more important and an expectation.
According to www.childlabor.in, 73 million children between the ages of 10 and 14 are being employed all over the world. Hopefully with time and the increasing expectation of ethical business, many other businesses will follow Primark’s example and significantly lower the number.