Boohoo appoints former judge to monitor change

FASHION FIRM SETS OUT TO REFORM AFTER PROBLEMS IN CITY FACTORIES

ONLINE fashion retailer Boohoo has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to oversee its “agenda for change”.

Boohoo launched the programme after poor treatment of workers was identified in factories producing good for it.

Sir Brian said: “Boohoo has recognised it must institute and embed change so everyone involved in the group’s supply chain is treated fully in accordance with the law and the principles of ethical trading.”

He will report to the board directly and his reports will be published, Boohoo said, to enable transparency and independence to the process.

Sir Brian is a retired senior judge who conducted the Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press, between 2011 and 2012, following the News of the World phone hacking scandal

Shares in Boohoo took a battering in the summer after the Sunday Times sent an undercover reporter into a Leicester factory making clothes destined for its websites, which he said was exploiting workers.

Boohoo invited senior lawyer Alison Levitt QC to carry out an independent review of its supply chain as it tried to rebuild confidence in its operations.

In September, she reported that Boohoo management were well aware workers in some factories supplying it were being badly treated months before the summer’s allegations came out.

She said the fast fashion chain knew about “serious issues” with the treatment of factory workers in Leicester in December, but failed to move quickly enough to do anything about it.

She also said Boohoo capitalised on the opportunities offered by lockdown – as online sales rocketed – supporting Leicester factories by not cancelling orders, but taking no responsibility for the impact on the people on the shop floor.

She blamed “weak corporate governance” for Boohoo’s inadequate monitoring of its Leicester supply chain.

That came despite its chief executive John Lyttle promising to the Mercury in August 2019 that it was taking steps to ensure Leicester suppliers gave their workers a fair deal.

Boohoo has also appointed KPMG to assist with the programme, it said, and will work with the group’s responsible sourcing and compliance team, and existing supply chain auditors, Bureau Veritas and Verisio.

Executive chairman Mahmud Kamani said: “I am encouraged by the progress that has been made to date by our teams since setting out our Agenda for Change programme in September.

“I and the board are fully committed to this programme, with the appointments of Sir Brian Leveson and KPMG bringing independent oversight, additional expertise and further transparency to a programme that will help us on our journey to lead the fashion e-commerce market globally in a transparent manner.”

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