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Store backs down from charging extra for larger bra sizes after consumer-led Facebook protest against the 'tit-tax'
Marks & Spencer said today it would stop charging more for larger bras after more than 14,000 consumers joined a Facebook group calling for an end to its differential pricing.
Unlike most retailers, M&S charged £2 more for bras with a cup size above DD – a cost described by the Facebook group Busts 4 Justice as a "tit-tax".
The company defended its position saying the charge reflected the extra cost of producing a bra for larger bust sizes, and that other specialist lingerie retailers charged £60 or more for larger cups.
However, it has now backed down and today took out full-page adverts in the press to tell consumers that from tomorrow, all bras will cost the same. Under the headline "We boobed" the adverts say: "We were wrong, so as of Saturday 9th May the storm in a D cup is over."
The chain is also offering 25% off all bras for two weeks.
The Busts 4 Justice group was set up last summer by Beckie Williams, a 26-year-old writer from Brighton who was fed up of paying extra for her 30G bras. Williams called the policy "ridiculous" and bought a £3.40 share in M&S so she could put her case in person.
By today her Facebook group had attracted 14,246 members. In a message on its homepage she told them: "We are really happy to say that, thanks to the members of Busts 4 Justice, M&S have decided to abolish the tit-tax, and from now on will be operating a one-price-fits-all policy across their ranges.
"We would like to thank everyone who has supported us on this issue; especially the thousands of brilliant, busty women that have joined forces with us. We couldn't have done this without you."
This is not the first time a Facebook campaign has played a role in persuading a company to change its mind. Two years ago HSBC backed down on plans to charge graduates for overdrafts after a group set up by the National Union of Students attracted more than 4,000 members.
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