Cleans up its act, with city firms among hundreds to be axed from supply chain

BOOHOO is undergoing a major transformation after accusations that some firms working for it in Leicester were under-paying staff.

The retailer has dropped more than 400 factories from its suppliers list in a bid to “repair its reputation”, it is claimed.

Boohoo has been seeking to make amends after it was alleged last year that some factories making items for the firm were paying staff as little as £3.50 an hour, and had working conditions which did not meet lockdown restrictions.

The group said it had “ceased doing business with a number of manufacturers who were unable to demonstrate the high standard of transparency required, despite being provided with opportunities to address any issues identified in the auditing process”.

It added that it had asked the remaining suppliers to bring their so-called cut-make-trim units in-house “to allow for greater oversight and remove the issue of unapproved sub-contracting”.

The online fashion giant said it now had 78 approved suppliers across 100 factories – far fewer than the 500 or so previously identified in an independent review of the business by Alison Levitt QC.

It had already announced it was cutting ties with 64 factories, consolidating others and cutting out subcontracting.

The company had more than £1 billion wiped from its share value in two days after an article last year revealed the factory allegations.

As other retailers such as Next and Asos dropped Boohoo clothing from