Madam, - An obvious side-effect of the blanket media coverage of Athens 2004 is the increased sale of sports clothing, footwear and accessories.
It has been reported that the various sweat shops employed by the biggest brands have been working at full-tilt around the world for some time preparing for this increase in demand. In general, those seeking to purchase any of the high-profile labels will find it almost impossible to find anything not produced in countries where workers' conditions are well below the minimum any of us would consider accepting.
This has been the case for some time although there has been a growing awareness of this situation in recent years.
However, there are areas where customers should have more choice about the source of their purchases and that includes non-sporting clothing available in outlets throughout the country. Until recently, it was always possible to tell where a garment was manufactured by simply reading the label inside, but, increasingly, even in the more upmarket stores, clothing contains no reference to the country of origin.
This is a growing trend which can only benefit those manufacturers who use sweat-shop labour but don't want purchasers to be aware of this, especially when they are charging a hefty premium for the label.
At a time when more and more people are concerned about the source of their purchases, major retail outlets should insist that all their clothing is properly labelled. If not, why not? - Yours, etc.,
PAUL FARRELL, Clyde Lane, Dublin 4.