Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Sat Apr 27, 2013 7:40 pm  

rover49 wrote:

Perhaps we should opt out of all this EU stuff and H&S stuff, then we can build huge factories with massive sleeping areas for the workforce to do 18 hrs before squeezing in with 300 others for a kip. They could also cook their own food on an open fire in the middle of it if we opted out of other H&S measures on food hygiene, quality control etc. Because they would have bed and board, no heating bills to pay for we could justify paying them 50p and hour and blow the opposition out of the water in such places as Indonesia, Philippines etc.

It would get Britain back to work and would also help tackle our trade deficit.

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:38 pm  

Derwent wrote:

The modern mass consumerism is to blame though. People want cheap clothes that they can wear and wash a couple of times before they discard them which is why the likes of Primark are thriving. The younger (say under 30) generation very rarely buy anything that's built to last, it's all about being 'on trend' and how it looks rather than the build quality. My daughters are 21 & 22 and I make a trip to the charity shop every few weeks with black bags full of clothes that they've worn once and discarded which they justify in their own minds because they only paid £5 for it from Primark or wherever and now it's out of fashion. There'll always be a place for the Norman Walsh companies of this world but the reality is that we live in an age where it's style over substance and thus the 'pile em high sell em cheap' retailers are thriving. But to sell them cheap they need to make them at an almost negligible cost which rules out manufacturing them in any Western Europe country. So I'm not sure it's fair to totally blame the retailers as ultimately they are responding to the consumers habits. Those of us who are fortunate enough to afford to be discerning will continue to be (eg I will pay £1,000 for a suit that will last 15 years rather than £100 for one that will last 12 months) and there'll always be a place for bespoke and niche companies, but the modern world and consumer values mean that cheap and cheerful is the dominant model and will continue to be. As my old granny used to say, the world these days is full of folk who know the price of everything but the value of nowt, and that's the real problem.

Please don't tell me that you honestly believe the retailers were simply responding to a demand from consumers that they produce thinly-veiled, knock-off copies of runway couture for a tenner a throw?

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:55 pm  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

You might be a discerning customer.

But there's an equal chance that you're a mug who just pays £800 for the feeling of being discerning.

The fact that your daughters have YOU taking their old clothes to the charity shop points to you being a mug. Is their time just so much more valuable than yours? Have you just got nothing better to do with your time than do their menial chores for them?

All parents are mugs when it comes to their children. However, They don't ask me to do it, I do it voluntarily because I'd rather they were spending their time having fun and enjoying life while they're young.

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:05 pm  

cod'ead wrote:

Please don't tell me that you honestly believe the retailers were simply responding to a demand from consumers that they produce thinly-veiled, knock-off copies of runway couture for a tenner a throw?

Yes I do, because that's what retailers do. They have to sell what the consumer wants to buy at a price they are happy to pay. If they don't they go under. Marks & Spencer are a prime example - a few years ago they were in serious difficulty because they hadn't moved with the times and were selling old fashioned items at high prices. They brought in new management who modernised their lines but reduced the quality and price. Sales improved massively. To do that they moved lots of manufacturing contracts abroad, as it was the only way they could be competitive on price. I'm not saying its ideal or preferable, just that its what happens.

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Sun Apr 28, 2013 7:52 am  

Derwent wrote:

Yes I do, because that's what retailers do. They have to sell what the consumer wants to buy at a price they are happy to pay. If they don't they go under. Marks & Spencer are a prime example - a few years ago they were in serious difficulty because they hadn't moved with the times and were selling old fashioned items at high prices. They brought in new management who modernised their lines but reduced the quality and price. Sales improved massively. To do that they moved lots of manufacturing contracts abroad, as it was the only way they could be competitive on price. I'm not saying its ideal or preferable, just that its what happens.

Particularly because the section of the market that has disposable income is the 18-30 year olds who are pre-mortgage, pre-everything-that-needs-to-be-paid-before-you-spend-it-on-yourself, they are the ones who can buy clothing in a frivolous manner, clothes that you know you are only going to wear once or twice and then never look at again.

If my 24 year old thought that M&S were now stocking ranges of clothing that she really liked I think she'd die of embarassment, but her, and her sister too spend their wages on clothing and accessories that they like but are ultimately guided by a combination of manufacturer, retailer and particularly magazine publisher into whatever is chosen as that seasons must-have, my youngest actually studied the art of fashion design and retailing, she learned how to promote "a look", how to arrange and dress a display and the college took over an empty unit in Leeds City Centre for several weeks and retailed second hand clothing using the promotion techniques, and they worked - and yet she still falls for all the tricks herself.

Its a female thing.

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:50 am  

Derwent wrote:

All parents are mugs when it comes to their children. However, They don't ask me to do it, I do it voluntarily because I'd rather they were spending their time having fun and enjoying life while they're young.

what a shame you and your kids get their values from expenditure and not expereiences.

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Sun Apr 28, 2013 9:10 am  

Standee wrote:

what a shame you and your kids get their values from expenditure and not expereiences.

What on earth makes you think that that is what they wrote ?

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:23 am  

JerryChicken wrote:

What on earth makes you think that that is what they wrote ?

because "I buy my childrens affection" is fairly obvious....?

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:58 am  

Standee wrote:

because "I buy my childrens affection" is fairly obvious....?

Perhaps you could point out where, in anything I wrote, I mentioned buying things for my children ? Go on Mr Knowitall, where ? The only thing I said I did for them was take their bags of old clothes to the charity shop. If that's your idea of buying affection then you have problems.

Re: The Price of Cheap Clothes : Mon Apr 29, 2013 8:42 am  

samwire wrote:

now where did i say anything about ethics, eh?

Unsurprisingly, you didn't.
Also unsurprisingly, you seem to have missed the point that the ethics and morality of cheap manufacture is what the thread is about.