Home secretary Priti Patel has sent a letter to Boohoo chief executive John Lyttle, calling on the retailer to ensure the protection of all its workers.
Following the allegations of modern slavery made against Boohoo’s Leicester suppliers, Patel said she expected Lyttle and the company to ensure that its workers were both “protected and remediated”.
She also urged the fast fashion retailer to share any information on exploitation with the authorities, review its buying practices and increase the transparency of its supply chain by following competitors such as Asos’ lead and publishing a list of suppliers.
Patel also added that Boohoo’s “aggressive pricing model” increases the risks of worker exploitation as suppliers try to decrease their expenditure.
Patel said in the letter: “I am concerned that your response to recent reports of labour exploitation in your supply chains appears to be focused on terminating contracts with suppliers found to have breached your code of conduct, rather than on protecting vulnerable workers.”
Since the allegations were made, Boohoo has terminated working with at least two suppliers and launched an independent review of its supply chain.
The results of the review should be made public in September.
No comments yet