Asda To Sell School Uniform For Less Than GBP10

The UK’s cheapest school uniform, priced at under £10, was unveiled yesterday by supermarket group Asda and will be available in stores next week.
The Asda outfit includes a polo shirt, sweatshirt, vest, briefs, socks, trousers or skirt and black scuff-resistant shoes, all for £9.96.
The retailer said the ‘value’ outfit from its George clothing range will be the cheapest uniform available for three to six-year-olds, with larger versions available at £12.96 for six to 10 year-olds and a £13.96 uniform for 10 to 12 year-olds.
Angela Spindler, managing director of George clothing, commented: “As we sell more school uniforms than anyone else in Britain, we want to put more money back into our customers’ pockets and that’s exactly what we have done giving customers change from a tenner.”
Its launch reflects the increasingly competitive nature of the £1 billion school uniform market, as retailers annually compete to offer the lowest prices ahead of the new school year.
However anti-poverty campaigners have voiced fears that the move would only be possible if workers in the developing world were exploited.
Asda has been accused in the past of using sweatshop factories in the Third World to produce its bargain clothes .
In December 2006 an investigation published by the War on Want charity alleged that factory workers in Bangladesh, supplying Asda, Tesco and Primark, were putting in extra long hours for poor pay.
Asda responded by saying its George uniform was ‘ethically’ sourced from factories which are regularly audited.
“If an audit highlights any irregularity, George will work with the supplier to put it right.”