A Primark shopper says a bra she purchased from the store has left her painful, irritated skin. Rika Smith from Blackwood was left with itchy and painful skin after wearing the bra for the first time. The 38-year-old is an astrophysics student and regularly shops in Primark. She has never before had a reaction to Primark clothes.
Now she says that she will no longer shop there and says she wants to raise awareness to help other shoppers avoid a similar fate. In a tweet, Rika posted a picture of the reaction she says the bra caused her. She said: "This from a Primark bra. It's been washed before use but now I'm full of chemical burns from the straps. I'm not allergic to anything so very strange, always wear Primark bras, well used to, not now."
Rika bought the bra in a pack of two for around £8 a week ago. She visited the Cwmbran store, which she has done on multiple occasions. After never having a problem with bras from Primark, Rika thought she would be okay with this particular t-shirt bra. However, when she put it on for the first time, she noticed pain and itching on her skin.
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Husband Neville acted quickly, putting cream onto the affected skin and providing Rika with antihistamines. After the treatment and a change of bra, Rika's skin "calmed down" and is now just slightly sore.
She said: "I just want awareness really, and hope no one else suffers this. Primark need to look into it stop selling this particular item. I want others to avoid the pain as it's been quite sore. If it wasn't for my husband's quick actions of cream and antihistamines it could have been a lot worse".
Rika says she has not yet heard back from Primark regarding her complaint, but she is looking forward to finding out "what they have to say". She added: "Bras shouldn't chemically burn us. I'll be shopping else where."
A Primark spokesperson said: “We take the safety and the quality of all our products very seriously and we are always working with both our suppliers and technologists in our quality team to ensure consistency. We encourage the customer to get in touch with us if they have had an issue with a product and we will happily look into their query.”
