Boohoo has said “many failings” have been found in its UK supply chain
after the completion of an independent review launched in July following
claims of poor working conditions.
In July, an undercover investigation by The Sunday Times alleged that
some of the Leicester factories supplying clothing to Boohoo were paying
workers just 3.50 pounds per hour and forcing some to work while sick.
Boohoo denied claims of illegal wages.
Boohoo launched an independent review of its UK supply chain the same
month, led by Alison Levitt QC.
The company, whose portfolio includes brands Pretty Little Thing and
Nasty Gal, said Friday the review “has identified many failings in the
Leicester supply chain and recommended improvements to boohoo’s related
corporate governance, compliance and monitoring processes”.
The review found that from “(at the very latest) December 2019, senior
Boohoo directors knew for a fact that there were very serious issues about
the treatment of factory workers in Leicester” and “whilst it put in place
a programme intended to remedy this, it did not move quickly enough.”
It also said “Boohoo ought to have appreciated the serious risks
created by ‘lockdown’ in relation to potential exploitation of the workforce
of the Leicester factories”.
However, Levitt was satisfied that the company “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 launches Supply Chain Compliance Committee
The review found “ample evidence that the steps which Boohoo is now
taking in relation to remedying problems in its Leicester supply chain had
been implemented nearly a year ago” and were not “just a reaction to the
negative publicity in July and August 2020”.
The company has set out six steps to enhance its supplier audit and
compliance procedures going forward, one of which being the bolstering of
its corporate governance through the appointment of new independent
directors, and the launch of a Supply Chain Compliance Committee.
“Today we publish Ms Levitt’s Independent Review in full. This has
identified significant and clearly unacceptable issues in our supply chain,
and the steps we had taken to address them, but it is clear that we need to
go further and faster to improve our governance, oversight and compliance,”
group CEO John Lyttle said in a statement.
“As a result, the Group is implementing necessary enhancements to its
supplier audit and compliance procedures, and the Board’s oversight of
these matters will increase significantly.”