Primark customer reportedly finds letter from Chinese sweatshop worker

A British shopper reportedly discovered a letter from someone claiming to be a Chinese sweatshop worker. The letter was allegedly found inside a pair of socks purchased from Irish clothing retailer, Primark.

Shahkiel Akbar, 25, told U.K. paper the Chronicle, that he purchased the black socks from a Primark store in Newcastle, England, and found a note that was written in Chinese.
Akbar sought to have the contents of the letter translated, eventually relying on a phone app to translate the note into English. Akbar said the note "looked to be an SOS" and the 39-year-old letter writer was forced to make the socks that Akbar purchased.

"I knew it was something sinister when I saw it," Akbar told the paper. "I was really shocked. I do feel responsible now I have found this. I just thought I need to shout it out."

A store spokesman told the media that the company believes the letter to be a hoax. A similar note was reportedly found in another pair of socks bought at the retail chain two weeks ago.

"The Primark name is being used to gain publicity for the plight of this individual," a Primark spokesman said to the media. "We think it is likely that the note was added after production and it is feasible it was added in transit or at a port."