Boohoo to ‘enforce supplier standards’
RETAILER VOWS ACTION AFTER ‘EXPLOITATION’ REPORT
BRITISH online fashion retailer Boohoo will end its relationships with any supplier found to have breached its code of conduct, the company said on Monday (6), following a media report about dire working conditions in one English factory.
A report in the Sunday Times (5) said workers in a factory in Leicester, making clothes destined for Boohoo were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour.
The report said the factory, which displayed the sign Jaswal Fashions, was also operating last week during a local coronavirus lockdown in Leicester, without additional hygiene or social distancing measures in place.
Fast-growing Boohoo, which sells own-brand clothing, shoes and accessories targeted at 16 to 40-year-olds, is by far the biggest company on London’s AIM market with a capitalisation at last Friday’s (3) close of nearly £5 billion. That’s more than double the market value of Marks & Spencer.
Boohoo denied it owned or operated any of the factories implicated in the newspaper report.
“We are grateful to the Sunday Times for highlighting the conditions at Jaswal Fashions, which, if as observed and reported by the undercover reporter, are totally unacceptable and fall woefully short of any standards acceptable in any workplace,” Boohoo said.
It said its early investigations had revealed that Jaswal Fashions was not a declared supplier. It was also no longer trading as a garment manufacturer, indicating that a different company was using Jaswal’s former premises.
Boohoo said that it was making attempts to establish the identity of this company.
“We are taking immediate action to thoroughly investigate how our garments were in their hands. [We] will ensure that our suppliers immediately cease working with this company, and we will urgently review our relationship with any suppliers who have subcontracted work to the manufacturer in question,” it added.
Boohoo said it had “fundamentally changed” its operations since the coronavirus outbreak, noting that online retailing was still permitted throughout the national lockdown.
The fashion site added that “every decision we have made has had the safety and wellbeing of our people at heart”, and employees had been given access to free PPE and hand sanitisers.
Boohoo said the group will not tolerate any incidence of noncompliance especially in relation to the treatment of workers within the supply chain.
A fashion source said the company is keeping jobs in the UK.
Responding to the lockdown measures in Leicester last week, Boohoo said, “None of our suppliers have been affected at this time and we are pleased that our in-house compliance team have been able to resume their work. Our third-party auditors are also out visiting sites this week.”
The fahsion retailer added, “We have a strict supplier code of conduct, which at times like this are more important than ever. We would not hesitate to take action if any standards are not met.”
Boohoo gained more popularity during the virus lockdowns as consumers shopped more from their mobile phones. The retailer’s shares rose 33 per cent since the start of the year.
Boohoo was co-founded by Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, and includes the brands Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal.
The Kamani family’s wealth was estimated to be £920 million in the 2019 Asian Rich List, published by Eastern Eye. (with Agencies)