Penneys is investigating after a Welsh woman found a hand-stitched cry for help on the label of her dress.
Primark - which operates the chain in the UK - has asked a girl who found the words 'forced to work exhausting hours' sewn inside a dress she bought in Swansea.
The retail chain says the dress has been on sale since 2013 and they want to fully investigate how the label became attached and whether there are issues which need to be looked into.
Clean Clothes Campaign Ireland works in 16 countries to improve working conditions for garment workers.
Kate Nolan works with the Clean Clothes Campaign, she says bad working conditions are commonplace in the garment industry.
Primark statement in full;
We are currently investigating the origins of an additional label which has been found inside one of our dresses implying that the garment was produced under poor working conditions.
Primark takes these allegations very seriously. No other incidents of this kind relating to this dress have been reported.
Primark takes allegations of this type very seriously. We have asked the customer who discovered the label to return the dress, which has not been available for sale since 2013, to us so we can fully investigate how the label became attached and whether there are issues which need to be looked into. No other incidents of this kind relating to this dress have been reported.
Our Code of Conduct states that suppliers and factories must ensure products are made in good working conditions, and that the people making them are treated decently and paid a fair wage. We inspect each factory to ensure it is meeting the Code and support it by providing guidance and training when issues are identified and are a member of the Ethical Trade Initiative.
