Boohoo faces criticism after reviving ties with controversial supplier

Boohoo is reportedly facing growing criticism after reinstating a supplier it had previously cut ties with amid a modern slavery scandal.

According to an investigation from The Telegraph, the Leicester-based GN Euro is again supplying womenswear to the online retailer, despite being struck off in 2021, after Boohoo was hit by claims some supplier workers were paid less than minimum wage.

Since being dropped by Boohoo, GN Euro has reportedly set up a new site in Morocco and is now supplying Boohoo from a Tangier factory that trades under the name Euro Touch, according to The Telegraph. 

The publication noted there was “no suggestion” that GN Euro is not complying with Boohoo’s improved ethical standard now, however. 

The names of the suppliers struck off in 2021 were never revealed, as chairman Mahmud Kamani claimed it would “prejudice any future applications” to join its supplier list. The group has however published a global list of suppliers as part of a transparency overhaul following the scandal. 

A Boohoo spokesman told The Telegraph: “Boohoo is open and transparent about its entire supply base, with all our suppliers listed and regularly updated on the company’s website. We do not work with suppliers which cannot adhere to our highest standards.

“We only on-board a supplier or factory that goes through our strict onboarding process and due diligence checks, no exceptions. Every supplier signs our code of conduct, has a valid third-party social compliance audit and is visited regularly by our ethical teams on the ground for an audit.”

Boohoo previously cut ties with more than 400 suppliers that were unable to “demonstrate the high standard of transparency required” as part of the company’s ‘Agenda for Change’ programme.

The move came six months after an independent report produced by Alison Levitt QC “identified many failings” in the Leicester supply chain and recommended improvements to Boohoo’s related corporate governance, compliance and monitoring processes

Levitt found that “allegations about poor working conditions and low rates of pay in many Leicester factories are not merely well-founded but substantially true”.

In her report, she said: “Boohoo’s monitoring of its Leicester supply chain was inadequate and this was attributable to weak corporate governance.

“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.”

The retailer first announced it would be launching the independent review in July 2020 following revelations of poor working conditions in a Leicester warehouse. 

Boohoo first responded to allegations of malpractice after a Sunday Times exposé highlighted the conditions at supplier Jaswal Fashions in an undercover report.

The report “identified many failings” in the Leicester supply chain and recommended improvements to Boohoo’s corporate governance, compliance and monitoring processes. 

It added there was “ample evidence” that the steps which Boohoo is taking to remedy supply chain issues had been implemented nearly a year ago, adding that “they were a product of processes it had itself put in place and not just a reaction to the negative publicity in July and August 2020”. 

At the time, former CEO John Lyttle said there was a “need to rebuild confidence that these matters will be dealt with appropriately and sensitively, and that they will not recur”. 

Boohoo has been contacted for further comment.