Boohoo chief executive John Lyttle has vowed that the retailer will “lead from the front” when it comes to tackling the systemic issues uncovered in its supply chain.
The fast fashion giant’s boss John Lyttle said that he wanted to position Boohoo as a leader in cleaning up the kind of working conditions uncovered at one of its supplier factories in Leicester by The Sunday Times.
Boohoo claimed to have been “shocked and appalled” at allegations of workers being paid less than the minimum wage and forced to work in unsafe conditions, which was met by some incredulity in the retail sector.
The retailer announced last week that it would be conducting a full independent review of conditions, pledged to spend £10m on mending its supply chain and hired two auditors to map its entire logistics network.
“We have got a QC in, I can’t think of many other companies that have done that, and we’re going to make the findings public,” Lyttle told The Times.
He also said that, before Christmas, a trial audit uncovered “health and safety issues” in some of its Leicester factories, which have since been closed.
“We’ve got a QC to look into this and around Leicester and the garment industry – we’re saying let’s really dig deep into all the issues. Let’s once and for all take these concerns on board and do a proper investigation.”
Lyttle hinted that Boohoo might look to pull out of the city entirely if factory owners wouldn’t fall into line on pay and working conditions.
A recent report by Labour Behind the Label found that Boohoo and its stable of brands were responsible for some 80% of products produced in the city.
“We have influence and scale,” said Lyttle. “There appears to be a myth that Leicester can make pieces at prices that can’t be made anywhere else. But that’s not true – I wouldn’t make anything in Europe if that was the case, I’d go to Bangladesh.”
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