No Pride In Primark

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Fashion | Gifts & Seasonal

For Pride 2018, we’ve teamed up with the LGBT charity, Stonewall, to create a capsule range of Pride‐ready goodies. The full collection is bursting with rainbow shades and motifs, as well as trendy‐savvy designs and key seasonal items. Best of all, 20% from full price Stonewall‐marked products will be donated directly to the charity itself, with the proceedings being used to support the community, globally. In the spirit of sharing the love, we’ve captured behind the scenes footage of this very special project, to bring you all the juicy deets. From research and development, to the people behind the partnership, right through to the final reveal; we’ve got your curiosities covered. So, sit back, relax, and take a peek behind the rainbow‐striped curtain … 20% from full price Stonewall marked products will be donated directly to the charity Stonewall, supporting ACCEPTANCE FOR EVERYONE. Stonewall is Britain’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality, working to create a world where every single person can be accepted without exception. It was founded in 1989 by a small group of people who wanted to break down barriers to equality. Stonewall continues to campaign and lobby government to change laws to ensure everyone, everywhere, is free to be themselves. Stonewall works in partnership with a growing network of more than 700 organisations to help create real change for the better. It campaigns to eliminate homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in communities, and empowers LGBT people and their allies to be role models wherever they live, work, shop, socialise or pray (Source: Primark 2018, np link).

Pride events have been generating millions in revenue for local businesses in cities like London, New York and Madrid. This comes as no surprise, considering the purchasing power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities was estimated to be 917 billion dollars in 2016 in the United States alone, according to a study by Witeck Communications. It’s only natural that fashion brands would want a piece of the cake. A growing number of retailers have released capsule collections during Pride season in recent years, including Urban Outfitters, Nike and, more recently, H&M and Primark. But consumers are skeptical of brands that seem to ‘pull the Pride card’ only to increase sales. Primark’s 2018 Pride Collection, released earlier this month, is the latest example of a fashion company being accused of ‘pinkwashing’ by LGBT activists (Source: van Elven 2018, np link).

After announcing it will sell a Pride collection in Europe, the U.K., and the U.S., Ireland-based retailer Primark has been criticized for producing its merchandise in China, Turkey, and Myanmar, all known for having abominable records on LGBT rights, progressive website Common Space reports. The line, which includes T-shirts, caps, and accessories, will raise money for the queer charity Stonewall, which will receive 20 percent of the proceeds. However, dollars will be going to places where Pride is illegal (Source: Sobel 2018, np link).

Imagine that, for a moment. Imagine you’re gay, lesbian, bi or trans, and you live in one of those countries [like Turkey, Myanmar, China]. You live your life under fear of family ostracisation, attack, arrest or worse, just for who you are. And you go to your low paid job in a Primark factory to find that you’re producing clothing for the UK that ‘celebrates’ being what you are not allowed to be. What a smack in the guts that must be (Source: Taylor 2018a, np link).

Since its earliest adoption as an LGBTQ symbol, the rainbow has provided an important semiotic focal point and political symbol, as an easily recognizable sign of solidarity that transcends cultural or linguistic differences. In this sense, as the association with health and social care workers during COVID illustrated, the rainbow’s affective capacity is also its vulnerability; the rainbow aesthetic, with its bright colours and cheerful connotations renders it particularly vulnerable to co-optation and incorporation into corporate branding initiatives. And with this comes the risk that the sense of community, solidarity and identification that the rainbow was designed for and needs to convey becomes just another marketing, merchandising or managerial resource. This is arguably what Primark were so keen to tap into when they launched a range of rainbow- themed range of clothes and accessories in June 2018. Sold in the UK, Europe and the US, the range consists of items such as T-shirts, shorts, face paint, bags, whistles/lanyards, badges and hats. Designed (according to text on the Primark website) to be both eye catching and practical for Pride marchers, it was launched in association with Stonewall, the UK’s biggest LGBTQ charity. Yet despite this association and Primark’s espoused support for LGBTQ rights, this corporate commitment to inclusion is both selective and instrumental, and LGBTQ activists widely accused Primark of ‘pinkwashing’, referring to the range as ‘an insult’ (Source: Tyler & Vachhani 2021, p.254).

Yesterday, @Primark and @stonewalluk announced a partnership where Primark sell their ‘Pride range’ across the UK and western Europe and donate 20% of profits to Stonewall. I asked some questions, but got no answers. So I’ll try again. … First, according to his Twitter timeline, the buyer for this range @glenrules is currently in Bangladesh, where homosexual acts are punishable by life imprisonment. In which countries was the range manufactured? … There is no ‘acceptance without exception’ if the people producing these products are facing prejudice, discrimination and state-sponsored homophobia every day. (Here’s @ILGAWORLD’s index on Asia https://ilga.org/downloads/2017/Charts_ILGA_English_Asia_2017.pdf). … Second, how will @stonewalluk use the funds to support the Pride movement? Primark Newcastle will be selling this range; just last week @northernprideuk announced their event was being scaled back due to a lack of funds. … Third, why is the range being sold in cities where @stonewalluk are not attending the Pride event? In some of these cities, the Pride is itself selling merchandise, and this could harm their sales. … And finally, do @stonewalluk have any plans to give *strategic* support to the Pride movement (UK or abroad) in the next year? It would be a great way to invest the many thousands of pounds they raise from this partnership. … Why does any of this matter? Because @stonewalluk are endorsing @Primark and, to the person on the street, that will mean that the whole LGBTI movement is endorsing Primark. Prides will get questions about this and we need answers (Source: Taylor 2018b, np link).

Here’s the @UKPrideNetwork’s statement on the @stonewalluk @Primark relationship: ‘The UK Pride Organisers Network supports and brings together the organisers of more than 140 LGBT+ Pride events in the UK. After being alterted by some members, the network was disappointed to see that proceeds from Primark’s range of ‘Pride’ clothing and accessories, launched in time for Pride season, is not being donated to the Pride organisations that organise these events. Instead it is being given to Stonewall who, whilst they attend some Prides, do not organise the events themselves. … Stonewall have been critical of Prides in the past, and this is an insult to those Prides who sell their own merchandise to raise funds for their events. We urge everyone who wants to support their local Pride to do so by purchasing merchandise from them, or from stall holders at the event. And we call on Stonewall to work with us to reallocate the income their receive from this partnership so that it can be used to further the Pride movement for the good of all LGBT+ people across the UK’ (Source: Taylor 2018b, np link).

Last year, Turkey banned all pride events in the capital to ‘protect public security’, with Stonewall itself criticizing the decision. ‘In Turkey, a country ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for LGBT rights violations, LGBT cultural events have particular importance. Yet LGBT events in Turkey are currently under attack, marking a rollback of LGBT rights’, wrote the UK charity on its website. In an interview to The Guardian in 2016, Hla Myat Tun, from Burmanese LGBT organization Colors Rainbow, said ‘the police [in Myanmar] see LGBT people, especially transgender people, as people they can abuse whenever they need money’ (Source: van Elven 2018, np link).

Thanks to @stonewalluk & @Primak for their amazing Pride range in Birmingham. #LoveIsLove #BirminghamPride (Soph 2018, np link).

Hi Sophie, you rock that look! Isn’t our ramge amazing!! And how awesome that 20% of the sales go to the Stonewall charity 😊🌈 (Source: Primark 2018, np link).

Please don’t buy #Pride range from #Primark – they’re profiting and giving nothing to Prides. Prides all around the UK are the product of volunteers working their arses off to make them possible by constant fundraising (Source: Love 2018, np link).

Louise Smith, the director of fundraising at Stonewall UK, said: ‘We work with organisations with offices and operations based around the world to help them support their LGBT staff. International businesses often operate in countries where the context for LGBT people can be challenging. In Turkey we are working directly with LGBT rights campaigners to upskill them in practical ways to push forward LGBT equality, including ways to engage positively with local police forces and the broader legal system’ (Source: Busby & Snaith 2018, np link).

Stonewall said in a statement: ‘When Primark decided to launch a summer Pride range we were proud and pleased that they approached us about a partnership. They want to work with us to help embed long-term, generational change for LGBT people in the UK and internationally. This funding will help us run programmes that empower LGBT young people and marginalised groups within the community. This partnership with Primark will also support our international programmes, which over the past 12 months have supported nearly 100 activists from across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus and South Africa. We deliberately work with a wide variety of organisations, in countries across the world, to ensure that positive change can be a reality for every lesbian, gay, bi and trans person. Through our Global Diversity Champions programme of which Primark is a member we work with organisations that operate in extremely difficult contexts. We give these organisations the tools to create workplaces that, despite the legislative landscape, are inclusive and supportive of LGBT people and LGBT equality. And through our Global Workplace Briefings, we connect them with local LGBT groups on the ground, wherever possible’ (Source: Bishop 2018, np link).

As Pride celebrations kick off across the US, Primark is celebrating the joy of dressing, accessorising and living in an authentic way, with a new campaign. Centring on the message – Be Authentic, Be Proud, Be You – the campaign showcases the power of self-expression and represents the diversity of the brand’s colleagues and customers. This year, Primark is proud to pledge $30,000 to two charities in the US dedicated to supporting the LGBTQI+ community, as we work towards a future where everyone can be their authentic selves. Primark is donating $20,000 to Out & Equal, an organization dedicated to achieving LGBTQIA+ equality. A further $10,000 will be donated to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the oldest organization supporting LGBTQIA+ youth.  Primark will also donate a further $120,000(£100,000) to its international long-term charity partner, ILGA World, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, as they press forward to advance equity and equality for those in the community. This is the sixth year of Primark’s partnership with ILGA World and takes the retailer’s contribution to LGBTQI+ charities to over $1.2 million since 2018. This year Primark colleagues are participating in Pride events in Boston, New York, and Florida (Source: Niery 2024, np link).

… companies seeking to espouse wokeness are vigorously monitored by online communities or individuals who are scrutinizing announcements and behaviors for signs of hypocrisy. While the ostensible motivation is to sort between hypocritical and sincere endorsements of woke agendas … , the Primark example suggests that such online activism may descend into purity spirals. Although some applauded Primark’s pride collection and Stonewall support, in the eyes of some activists these virtuous acts were offset by other less virtuous behaviors, such as having clothing produced in Myanmar. For a big company that seeks to signal virtue, this is a major problem, as it is likely that there will always be some past or current practice or behavior that can be
identified, publicly criticized, and taken as evidence of corporate hypocrisy. Company protests are likely to be taken as evidence of guilt, and additional corporate actions are likely to be scrutinized with extra care Perhaps Primark’s woke signaling was sincere and perhaps it wasn’t. Apparently, however, social medial activists became
convinced that it was not. In response to the need for objective, trustworthy information, we expect to see the emergence of third-party certifying institutions and organizations. In the US, companies can be certified as ‘Minority Business Enterprises’ by the National Minority Supplier Development Council or a local MBE program administered by a city, county, or state if the company fulfills certain ethnically based criteria. Various organizations certify a company’s commitment to, for example, sustainability. It would seem to be just a small step to bona fide woke certification (Source: Foss & Klein 2024, p.196-7).