Marks and Spencer criticised for bra that can be worn only for 8 hours
By ANIWednesday, September 15, 2010
LONDON - British retail store Marks and Spencer has been criticised for selling a bra that can be worn for just eight hours.
The 20 pounds stick-on strapless bra, which has been marketed as “ideal for wearing with strapless or backless dresses and tops”, has a manufacturer’s tag indicating it should not be worn for more than eight hours.
The warning is due to the silicone content of the bra, which gives it its grip but can also irritate the skin of some wearers.
On the Marks and Spencer website the stick-on bra is praised for its “smoothly moulded cups” which “look invisible under clothes and give secure support”.
It also added that the bra, which is 100 percent polyester, has a silicone edge.
“Any customers who experience discomfort or an adverse reaction should discontinue wearing it. We recommend that you do not wear for more than 8 hours at a time,” the Telegraph quoted a statement on its website as stating.
But the concept has been found to be ludicrous by housewife Shirley Moss, of Maidstone, Kent.
“It’s usually about 12 hours at least before I take a bra off each day. So four o’clock in the afternoon, wherever I am, in the supermarket, I have to strip off, it’s ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous,” she said.
“It’s no use to me at all,” she added.
But a spokesman for M and S said the message was a precautionary warning.
“We have received a very small number of complaints from women who have found the silicone in some of our bras uncomfortable,” he said.
“This is why we felt it was important to include some information on the packaging of the bras which contain silicone.
“This is purely a precautionary message we have included in our packaging in order to help our customers.
“Silicone is an industry standard material used to keep strapless styles in place,” he added. (ANI)