26th Aug 2020 16:05
(Alliance News) - An industry group on Tuesday distanced itself from a review on Boohoo Group PLC's supply chain, questioning its independence and scope.
The Ethical Trading Initiative explained it was invited to fill a questionnaire by those heading up the independent review on Boohoo's suppliers.
Alison Levitt, a lawyer, will head up a probe an independent probe "of our UK supply chain", Boohoo said in July. It came after the fast-fashion retailer grappled with claims it sold clothes made in factories where staff were paid less than the minimum wage.
At the heart of the allegations was the UK city of Leicester.
The ETI said: "The volume of production undertaken in Leicester makes it the centre of public attention at the moment, but it is important to remember that other cities in the UK also have similar, albeit better hidden, challenges.  
"Tackling these challenges through a questionnaire focusing upon individual factories and incidents in one city is not the best way to take forward a full investigation into these matters. This is a supply chain issue that begins with corporate business practices around purchasing and costing, but includes workplace & community exploitation and in this scenario it is often the workers that suffer as businesses avoid taking responsibility."
The Sunday Times newspaper back in July had reported allegations that workers in Leicester's Jaswal Fashions Ltd factory making clothes for Boohoo brand Nasty Gal were being paid as little as GBP3.50 an hour and operating without social distancing measures in place. Boohoo denied Jaswal Fashions was ever a supplier.
ETI said: "We have made the decision not to respond to this questionnaire for a number of reasons. Firstly, we do not believe that an enquiry commissioned by boohoo and paid for by boohoo can be fully independent. We would expect a wide number of stakeholders who understand the complexities of the UK garment industry to be involved in a truly independent enquiry. Many of those stakeholders have been working for some time to develop positive changes to the industry."
The body also took aim at the probe for looking at individual factories and suppliers, in favour of "the business practices that feed this environment".
"Thirdly, there is no mention of the other locations where boohoo face criticism, such as Burnley," ETI added.
Boohoo shares were 2.0% higher at 314.20 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Boohoo