Category Archives: Marks & Spencer

Retailers join calls for ‘urgent’ action to restrict harmful tuna fishing methods

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‘Fish aggregating devices’ have been linked to depletion of yellowfin populations and increased bycatch in the Indian Ocean

Global condemnation is growing at the increasingly widespread use of harmful “fish aggregating devices” (FADs) in the fishing industry, as retailers including Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and the German chain Edeka joined calls for restrictions.

A letter signed by more than 100 NGOs, retailers and artisanal fisheries urges this week’s meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to consider proposals by Kenya and Sri Lanka to monitor, manage and restrict FADs. The signatories warn of an “urgent need” to improve management of FADs in order to reduce overfishing and rebuild populations of yellowfin tuna.

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‘Hate-wear’ and ‘sadwear’: fashion’s new names for lockdown dressing

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NYT and Esquire coin terms for the ways people are expressing frustration through clothes

With online sales booming but retail in sharp decline, the pandemic has changed shopping for ever. Practical, comfortable items suitable for a lifestyle of working from home and occasional trips outside – such as Ugg boots, Crocs and trousers with elasticated waistbands – have seen rising sales.

But with many of us grappling with our emotions during lockdown, the way we feel and speak about our clothes has altered too.

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Firms halt deliveries from UK to EU over Brexit border problems

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DPD pauses road service and retailers suspend sales or reduce lines amid concerns over paperwork and tariffs

A growing number of retailers and courier firms are suspending or cutting back deliveries into the EU as companies grapple with new border controls as well as import taxes.

On Friday DPD, the international delivery giant, said it was “pausing” its road service from the UK into Europe, including the Republic of Ireland. Separately, Marks & Spencer said it was concerned that a third of the products in its Irish food halls, including Percy Pig sweets, would now be subject to import tariffs. Such taxes could spell higher prices for shoppers.

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UK supermarkets unite after Sainsbury’s advert prompts racist backlash

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Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose run ads back-to-back on Channel 4

A group of leading UK supermarkets have joined together to take a stand against a racist online backlash that followed Sainsbury’s Christmas advertisement featuring a black family.

Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose ran their adverts back-to-back during two primetime slots on Channel 4 on Friday evening, with the hashtag #StandAgainstRacism. Normally, competitors actively avoid airing their ads close together.

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Nightmare before Christmas: M&S set for big loss on Covid-hit high street

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Its Ocado tie-up may bring Marks festive joy, but as restrictions and uncertainty bite, even Primark looks less than cheerful

The next two months are supposed to be the most lucrative time of the year for the high street, but a grisly update from Marks & Spencer will this week provide a grim reality check as the pandemic sets up nightmarish trading conditions for the golden quarter.

Analysts expect M&S to have made a loss of about £60m in the first six months of its financial year because of the huge sales hit suffered by its clothing arm during the three-month spring lockdown. This time last year, the UK’s biggest clothing retailer was reporting profits of £176m.

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Factory that supplied Tesco compensated abused worker

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The woman was robbed and told if she protested she would be ‘killed and put in box’

A Bangladeshi factory that produces clothes for Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Mothercare was forced to compensate an “outspoken” female worker after she was beaten up on the orders of management and threatened with being murdered, the Guardian has learned.

The woman claimed to have been “severely beaten up” by security guards and the HR and compliance management at the factory, which is used by the brand Stanley/Stella. She said she was robbed of her severance pay and told that if she protested she would be “killed and her body put in a cardboard box”, an industry watchdog report that endorses her account states.

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