12 APRIL 1963, Page 16

SHIRT-WASTERS

SIR,—Can nothing be done to dissuade shirt manu- facturers from the exasperation they cause to the public or from the waste of materials, time and money in which they indulge? To buy a suit, tie, shoes, undergarment, pYlernas: overcoat, mackintosh and almost any garment °the' than a shirt imposes no inconvenience upon the purchaser. To buy a shirt, however, inflicts upon the purchaser an imposing and ridiculous array of trivia.

1 gold embossed cellophane and tissue bag 1 strip shaped cardboard 1 piece shaped cardboard 1 polythene spare collar bag 1 instruction 35on10 words)

eawfloet(containing two illustration d o s

1 gold embossed price ticket (7 inches long) 1 celluloid stud-retainer 2 perspex cuff-retaining clips 2 dummy cufflinks and

5 diminutive pins (inserted in a manner 001; ingly calculated to make their removal ea°'''' difficult). Assuming each shirt takes as long to pack divorce from all this trivia, the waste in man-h0u..1; alone merits criticism. Surely the more pr0g1e551, shirt manufacturers (whether of 'double t.wud 'double gain' or any other doubles) can give a it manede?liminate completely these absurd accoutN nts

Bishop's Stortford, Hens

PIERRE FREDERIC1C