Italian prosecutors on Thursday named 13 luxury brands, including Gucci, Prada, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent, that are suspected of employing subcontractors who exploit migrant workers in Italy. This is part of a growing investigation into abuses in sweatshops.
The Milan public prosecutor Paolo Storari requested information from the brands about the alleged abuses. However, a formal investigation into the companies has not yet been launched. This is the largest expansion yet of an investigation into the luxury sector launched last year. The investigation uncovered violations of wage and hour regulations, safety deficiencies and inadequate accommodations for employees.
“As part of the investigation, there were reports of the employment of Chinese workers in conditions of severe exploitation,” Storari wrote in documents to the brands released Thursday.
The document reveals that luxury bags, wallets and clothing were found during searches of Italian workshops. In these companies, Chinese and Pakistani workers were employed under exploitative conditions.
Among other things, internal governance documents and audit information on the brands’ supply chains are requested.
The documents were sent to some of the fashion industry’s most prominent names, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen, part of French luxury group Kering, and Givenchy, part of French giant LVMH.
The public prosecutor also named the Italian brands Prada and its new acquisition Versace. Also named were Ferragamo, Pinko, Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni, Off-White, Coccinelle and the German sporting goods giant Adidas.
Neither brand immediately responded to AFP’s requests for comment.
Extensive inspections
The Milan public prosecutor’s office has already opened investigations against Tod’s, Loro Piana, the Italian Dior subsidiary Manufactures Dior, Giorgio Armani Operations, Alviero Martini and Valentino Bags Lab.
With the exception of Tod’s, all companies were placed under temporary judicial administration. The aim is to resolve compliance problems and establish systems to prevent future grievances.
On Wednesday, a Milan judge granted Tod’s more time to complete an assessment of its supply chain controls. The public prosecutor’s office is seeking a temporary ban on advertising and the appointment of external administrators.
The investigations bring into focus the widespread practice of luxury brands of awarding orders to suppliers. They in turn commission additional subcontractors – often with increasingly narrow margins and inadequate monitoring of working conditions. Under Italian law, companies can be held liable for crimes committed by agents acting on their behalf, such as approved suppliers.
The Italian government is going on the offensive. Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said the reputation of “Made in Italy” brands was “under attack.” However, activists against sweatshops say that the brands themselves charge their contractors too low prices. This drives them to subcontract to second and third-party suppliers who lack supervision.
Deborah Lucchetti, Italian coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign, described the exploitation of workers as a “structural phenomenon” in the industry.
“‘Made in Italy’ cannot be a stage on which to celebrate astronomical profits based on the denial of the dignity of those who sew, assemble and finish the products,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
The prosecutor’s request for information follows inspections of five suppliers used by multiple brands. These only took place in November.
Between three and 19 workers – most of them Chinese, but also Pakistani – worked at each of these suppliers and were named in the documents.
Some of the affected brands are the Italian subsidiaries of the parent companies, such as Yves Saint Laurent Manifatture, Alexander McQueen Italia and Givenchy Italia. (AFP)
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