The joy that comes from finding a great deal on a cute piece of clothing is certainly something that is universal regardless of where a person lives. However, one shopper from Wales got a lot more than she bargained for after discovering that the tag inside a dress that she bought for £10 contained a hidden message.
Like usual, the dress had a care tag sewn inside it. On top of that though, someone who handled the garment before it went to the sales floor apparently decided to get creative by inserting a second tag that included what seemed to be a hidden distress call. The message said, “Forced to work exhausting hours.”
25-year-old Rebecca Gallagher purchased the multicolored frock that featured the alarming message, and was so taken aback by what she found inside that she has said she’ll never wear the item of clothing again. Prior to this incident with the hidden message, she admitted in an article from the South Wales Evening Post , “To be honest, I’ve never really thought much about how the clothes are made, but it’s really made me think about how we get our cheap fashion.”
She said she’s afraid that the top she bought in anticipation of having fun this summer was made by someone who has no choice but to spend hours working so that people can enjoy clothes at a discount. She also clarified although she’s not sure who put the hidden message in the dress, that hasn’t made the dress any more appealing.
The piece of clothing with the hidden message inside was sold by a discount chain called Primark. According to a spokesman, this is the only such hidden message incident that has been reported. He hopes Gallagher will send the dress to the company so a deeper investigation can be carried out to see who sewed the hidden message inside. There are two possibilities reportedly being explored. The first is that the hidden message was put there before the dress ever left the factory. Otherwise, the disturbing message could’ve been added into the inside of the garment once the piece of clothing made it to the United Kingdom.
However, the shopper says she already tried to contact Primark about the message sewed into the dress, but was put on hold for 15 minutes before eventually getting disconnected. Prior to this incident with the hidden message, Primark gained unwanted international attention in 2011 after a garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed and killed 1,000 employees. 580 of the deceased were associated with a supplier for Primark, and the company recently announced it will compensate injured workers, as well as family members of the employees who died.
[Image Credit: Matthew Horwood/ South Wales Evening Post ]