Canada's corporate ethics czar says it has launched a fact-finding investigation into allegations that Zara Canada Inc. is working with companies that use forced labour in China.

The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise says its investigation into the apparel company stems from allegations made by 28 civil society organizations.

The organizations alleged in June that Zara Canada has supply relationships with three Chinese companies identified as using or benefitting from the use of Uyghur forced labour.

The ombudsperson says Zara Canada has denied the allegations and said the complaint is inadmissible because the alleged human rights abuses do not arise from its operations. 

The ombudsperson added Zara Canada declined mediation, saying it does not have a commercial relationship with any factory in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Zara is the eighth company the ombudsperson has investigated for using Uyghur forced labour in its supply chain. Other companies it has looked into include Ralph Lauren Canada LP, Walmart Canada, Hugo Boss Canada Inc., Diesel Canada Inc. and mining company Gobi Man and says more assessments will be made public in the coming weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.

UK online fashion retailer Boohoo defends

supplier treatment after BBC probe


A woman poses with a smartphone showing the Boohoo app in front of the Boohoo logo on display in this illustration taken September 30, 2020. 

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - British online fashion retailer Boohoo defended its treatment of suppliers on Monday after the BBC said it had seen evidence of staff pressuring suppliers to drive prices down, even after deals had been agreed.

BBC Television conducted an investigation with an undercover reporter, who worked for 10 weeks at Boohoo's head office in Manchester as an administrative assistant.

"Like all businesses, we have experienced significant cost inflation over the last year, which we have absorbed in order to maintain affordable prices for customers," a spokesperson for Boohoo said in a statement.

"As the cost of raw materials, freight and energy started to come down, the Group asked its suppliers to reflect this in their pricing through discounts of between 1 and 10%, and we passed the savings onto customers," the spokesperson said.

In 2020, Boohoo accepted all the recommendations of an independent review that found major failings in its supply chain in England after newspaper allegations about working conditions and low pay in factories in the Leicester area.

It pledged to fix the problems with its "Agenda for Change" programme.

"Boohoo has not shied away from dealing with the problems of the past and we have invested significant time, effort and resource into driving positive change across every aspect of our business and supply chain," the spokesperson said.

Boohoo had made a number of improvements, including strengthening the ethical and compliance obligations on those wishing to supply Boohoo and regularly publishing a full list of approved global manufacturers.

"The action we've taken has already delivered significant change and we will continue to deliver on the commitments we've made," the spokesperson said.

Boohoo and rival ASOS grew rapidly during the pandemic when high street rivals were shuttered by lockdowns.

But supply chain issues, higher product returns, competition from rivals like Shein and rapidly rising living costs hit them hard.

Both Boohoo and ASOS have warned on the outlook in recent weeks.

Shares in Boohoo, 16.5% of which are owned by Mike Ashley's Frasers, fell as much as 2.6% before paring losses to stand 0.8% lower at 1039 GMT, extending a decline over the last year to 28%.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)