Saturday, July 11, 2020

UK SWEATSHOP 
Boohoo dropped by investor over ‘inadequate’ response to unsafe factory and low pay allegati

One of Boohoo’s biggest shareholders has said the company failed to adequately address allegations of poor working conditions in its supply chain after concerns surfaced amid Leicester’s coronavirus outbreak

Katie Grant @kt_grant July 10, 2020 

Boohoo has been dropped by one its biggest investors over allegations of unsafe working conditions and illegally low pay.

Asset management firm Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) sold most of its stock in the company in the wake of an investigation that found workers producing clothes for Boohoo at a Leicester factory were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour.

It brings an end to a tumultuous week for the retailer during which Next and Asos both dropped Boohoo-branded goods from their online stores in an effort to distance themselves from the label following the claims published in The Sunday Timese


Shares plummet

Boohoo, which also owns fellow fast-fashion brands Nasty Gal and PrettyLittleThing, has denied putting workers at risk but promised to “thoroughly investigate” the claims.

Shares in Boohoo Group began to recover on Thursday after plummeting nearly 40 per cent, wiping more than £1.5bn off the retailer’s value. This rebound followed assurances from the company that it would launch an independent review of its UK supply chain.

The fashion brand Boohoo has lost one of its biggest investors (Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

But Boohoo’s response failed to win over investor SLA, which has dumped almost all its stock.

“Having spoken to Boohoo’s management team a number of times this week in light of recent concerning allegations, we view their response as inadequate in scope, timeliness and gravity,” spokeswoman Lesley Duncan told the Financial Times.

Boohoo ‘shocked’

Boohoo said in a statement earlier this week: “As a board, we are shocked and appalled by the recent allegations that have been made and we are committed to doing everything in our power to rebuild the reputation of the textile manufacturing industry in Leicester.

“We want to ensure that the actions of a few do not continue to undermine the excellent work of many suppliers in the area, who succeed in providing good jobs and good working conditions.”

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