Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Mirror, mirror
He is back. In todays Telegraph Robert Kilroy-Silk accuses Marks and Spencers of using "distorting" mirrors in its changing rooms to make women look slimmer when they try on clothes:
M&S immediately denied the allegation, insisting that its mirrors were "bog-standard".
Nevertheless, the matter was elevated to the European Parliament.
Mr Kilroy-Silk raised the issue in a written question after his wife Jan and daughter Natasha said that mirrors in their local M&S stores in Windsor and Maidenhead were deliberately tilted or angled to make them look slimmer.
In his question, Mr Kilroy-Silk asked if, among the millions of EU regulations "covering virtually every aspect of life in the EU", there was not one that made it illegal for M&S to have mirrors that distorted women's body shapes.
Meglena Kuneva, EU commissioner for consumer protection, replied that the alleged practice "may fall under the scope of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive".
"Under the directive, a commercial practice will be considered unfair if it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence and if it materially distorts the economic behaviour of the average member of the group of consumers to whom the practice is addressed," she said.
But she advised Mr Kilroy-Silk to take up the issue with the "national authorities".
Nice to see that the former UKIP and Veritas MEP still has his finger on the pulse of the nation.
M&S immediately denied the allegation, insisting that its mirrors were "bog-standard".
Nevertheless, the matter was elevated to the European Parliament.
Mr Kilroy-Silk raised the issue in a written question after his wife Jan and daughter Natasha said that mirrors in their local M&S stores in Windsor and Maidenhead were deliberately tilted or angled to make them look slimmer.
In his question, Mr Kilroy-Silk asked if, among the millions of EU regulations "covering virtually every aspect of life in the EU", there was not one that made it illegal for M&S to have mirrors that distorted women's body shapes.
Meglena Kuneva, EU commissioner for consumer protection, replied that the alleged practice "may fall under the scope of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive".
"Under the directive, a commercial practice will be considered unfair if it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence and if it materially distorts the economic behaviour of the average member of the group of consumers to whom the practice is addressed," she said.
But she advised Mr Kilroy-Silk to take up the issue with the "national authorities".
Nice to see that the former UKIP and Veritas MEP still has his finger on the pulse of the nation.
Comments:
<< Home
If M+S have really have found a way to make us all look slimmer, surely the question should be...why doesn't every shop have to have one?
Post a Comment
# posted by 
: 9:03 AM
: 9:03 AM<< Home
