Image credit: Rex for The Guardian
A letter pleading for help found in a pair of socks purchased in a Primark store in the UK is likely a hoax, according to the store, but it isn't the first time that a similar letter has been found.
Shakhiel Akbar was shocked to find a letter describing the torture inflicted on Chinese factory workers tucked into the socks he bought at a British Primark store. He used his phone to translate the letter, which chronicled the plight of a 39-year-old factory worker.
"It seemed like he was risking a lot to try and get a message out," Akbar said. "He said he had endured physical and psychological abuse and that he was forced to make these socks."
The company immediately dismissed the letter as a hoax, despite the fact that similar letters have been found previously. Primark even accused the worker of being at fault, claiming that he used the Primark name to gain visibility for his plight. Man, what a jerk.
Of course, even if all of these letters are hoaxes, that doesn't change the fact that factory workers in China work in conditions that American workers can barely imagine. Even your beloved Christmas decorations were probably made by workers painted red for their efforts. Merry Christmas?