Since last year, we have been campaigning for the online fast fashion brand Boohoo to clean up its supply chain and publish its supplier list. Thousands of you signed our petition. Multiple news reports of illegally exploited workers in Leicester and dodgy practices brought Boohoo under the spotlight, and this provoked the brand to commission an “independent review” by a lawyer – Alison Levitt QC – into what happened in their suppliers and what should be done. That review is now out. Here is our take on it.
Labour behind the label welcomes the publication of the Independent Review into the Boohoo Group Plc’s Leicester supply chain which is a damning indictment of the practices, culture and failings at the group in regard to its workers.
Allegations of widespread abuses substantiated
While Boohoo initially dismissed the allegations contained in our report of 30 June – Boohoo & Covid-19: The people behind the profit – claiming findings as inaccurate and untrue, it is now clear that abuses are endemic within their supply chain and our findings are substantiated. The abuses – including massive wage theft and non-compliance with minimum wage regulations, inadequate and slapdash auditing, a lack of proper oversight of the supply chain, an unwillingness to take responsibility at the highest level within the Boohoo Group, and the overarching pursuit of profit and growth at the expense of proper corporate governance – needs a strong and consistent commitment by Boohoo to make systemic changes to its business practices and to ensure this commitment outlasts the media attention.