Leading retailers, including French Connection, Harrods, Reiss and Hobbs issued indignant rebuttals after Burma campaigners accused them of failing to clarify their stance on sourcing from the country.
The store groups reacted angrily after they were included on a list of 41 clothing retailers, which campaigners claim ignored repeated inquiries to divulge sourcing protocols.
Contacted by Retail Week, spokesman for Harrods said: 'We do not source anything from Burma.' His comments were echoed by French Connection, Hobbs and Reiss.
However, Burma campaigners were unrepentant. Burma Campaign UK spokesman Mark Farmaner confirmed he had received a written response from Harrods, but in it the retailer had refused to reveal its policy. He also insisted he had written to French Connection several times without response. 'We never said they were sourcing from Burma, but they refused to disclose the information to us,' he maintained.
The campaign, launched with a report celebrating 'clean' retailers two weeks ago, scored a high-profile success this week. Farmaner said Primark admitted to sourcing approximately 1 per cent of product in the country, but has now forged a new policy and will desist.
Speaking about companies generally, he said: 'They do not take corporate social responsibility seriously until they realise they are facing a PR disaster. 'We now have a list of 138 brands who say they won't source from Burma, but last year£50 million worth of clothing entered the UK.'
Burma has been targeted by campaigners because of its poor human rights record.
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