I love a good bargain but I can't deal with Primark

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After my last visit to Primark, in which I left with a lurid pink towelling mini-dress that I neither liked, wanted or needed, I vowed never to go again. Then the baby had a growth spurt, and the appeal of seven vests for a fiver overwhelmed me. As always, Primark was Christmas Eve busy, the queues for the changing rooms snaking out the door while one women tried on trousers in the middle of the shop, her modesty less important than the need to snare a pair of bootcut jeans for £6. Suddenly I felt repulsed, less by her naked thighs than by my principles, in tatters at the prospect of a bargain. I marched straight out and went to M&S.

Fairtrade fashion is all very well but not everyone in Britain can afford to shop ethically: price is the bottom line. Significantly, Primark's prices are cheap enough to sway not only the poorest shoppers but the richest ones, too. Britons love a bargain so the recent news that Primark will soon overtake Asda as leader of the value clothing market is no surprise: retail analyst Verdict estimates that Primark's share of the market will rise from 14.3 per cent in 2006 to 18.4 per cent in 2007.

Why has Primark grown so big? It is easy to be suspicious of a £2 vest but I have spoken to Primark's people at length, who assure me they have signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative, which is committed to monitoring and improving working conditions in factories. Primark has worked with most of its suppliers for 10 years - not the mark of a company which shops around in order to save money.

Rivals might snipe that its low prices are the result of bad trading practices but low prices are only half the story. Primark also has a dogged attention to margins that would make Ebeneezer Scrooge seem profligate: no advertising (why pay models/ photographers/magazines?) nor even any music in its stores (it saves the cost of licensing). Most importantly, it also understands that in the overcrowded value-fashion sector, price alone is not enough to compete on: speed is of the essence, too.

Pivotal to any value brand's success is the ability to churn out fast fashion. Gone are the days of trundling out four collections a year: customers expect stock to be refreshed every six weeks, their favourite catwalk trends remade in stretch Lycra for a tenner.

This is what really bothers me about Primark and its ilk - the wastefulness. Fast fashion is disposable: from the fabric to the dyeing to the transportation of the garments, no good can come to the environment from flooding the market with so much choice.

Faced with a rail of £5 dresses, I'll probably buy one. But what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve for: perhaps the smartest choice is to walk on by.