Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Boohoo Review Finds ‘Unacceptable Issues’ in Leicester Supply Chain

The review found that some workers had not always been properly compensated for their work and that many were not fully aware of their rights.
Boohoo clothing | Source: Shutterstock

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Fashion retailer Boohoo said on Friday an independent review into allegations about working conditions and low pay had found many failings in its Leicester supply chain and recommended improvements to the company’s corporate governance.

Boohoo commissioned the review, headed by senior lawyer Alison Levitt, in July after a damaging British media report about factory working conditions.

"Ms Levitt is satisfied that Boohoo did not deliberately allow poor conditions and low pay to exist within its supply chain, it did not intentionally profit from them and its business model is not founded on exploiting workers in Leicester," Boohoo said in a statement.

The review found that some workers in its supply chain had not always been properly compensated for their work and that many workers were not fully aware of their rights and their obligations, Boohoo said.

ADVERTISEMENT

It said it recognised that this was a widespread issue in the garment industry and committed to establishing and funding a Garment & Textiles Community Trust governed by independent trustees to address hardship.

"This (review) has identified significant and clearly unacceptable issues in our supply chain and the steps we had taken to address them," Boohoo Chief Executive John Lyttle said.

"It is clear that we need to go further and faster to improve our governance, oversight and compliance," he said.

The company laid out six steps it was taking to improve governance, including appointing new independent directors to its board, making supply chain compliance a standing item at board meetings and the formation of two committees to oversee risks to the business and its supply chain compliance.

Boohoo sells own-brand clothing, shoes, accessories and beauty products targeted at 16- to 40-year-olds.

Its shares were up 17 percent by 07.08 am GMT on Friday, on track to regain much of the market value they had lost since the July media report.

By Muvija M; editors: Patrick Graham and Jason Neely

Building Resilience and Value in Fashion's Supply Chain.Opens in new window
In This Article

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Retail
Analysis and advice from the front lines of the retail transformation.

Adidas Prepares for Samba Slump

As the German sportswear giant taps surging demand for its Samba and Gazelle sneakers, it’s also taking steps to spread its bets ahead of peak interest.


Op-Ed | The Rise of the Unwasteful Brand

A profitable, multi-trillion dollar fashion industry populated with brands that generate minimal economic and environmental waste is within our reach, argues Lawrence Lenihan.


Fashion’s Stalled Self-Checkout Revolution

RFID technology has made self-checkout far more efficient than traditional scanning kiosks at retailers like Zara and Uniqlo, but the industry at large hesitates to fully embrace the innovation over concerns of theft and customer engagement.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
The State of Fashion 2024
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
The State of Fashion 2024