Workshops of as many as 13 luxury corporates in Italy have been accused of exploitative practices with migrant labour from Asia, specially China and Pakistan. The companies named include Versace, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent Manifatture, Adidas Italy, Gucci, Missoni, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Givenchy Italia, Alexander McQueen Italia, Coccinelle, Off-White Operating, and Pinko.
Italy has been conducting investigations into allegations of human rights abuse in the supply chains of luxury brands. Earlier, Loro Piana, Armani, Alviero Martini and Tod’s too came under the scanner for exploiting Chinese migrant labour.
This is perhaps the largest expansion so far of a probe launched last year into the luxury sector, which has uncovered wage and working-hour violations, safety lapses and substandard staff housing.
ALLEGED ABUSES: Publicly released documents show that Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari has sought information on alleged abuses by the brands, although they are not yet under formal investigation. It calls for internal governance documents and audit records tied to the brands’ supply chains.
The document shows that luxury bags, wallets and clothing were discovered during searches of Italian workshops where Chinese and Pakistani workers were employed in exploitative conditions.
Case files link the brands to covert, Chinese-run workshops, identifying them as clients who channel work to contractors and subcontractors operating outside labour and safety laws.
This November, prosecutors in Milan had called for a six-month ban on Tod’s advertising as it placed three of its executives under investigation for suspected labour abuses.
Since 2015, checks on Chinese-run workshop-dorms have uncovered escalating hygiene, safety and pay violations — with big-brand goods repeatedly turning up inside. Storari called the broader probe a “judicial policy” designed to scrutinise the luxury supply chain from hidden units to retail floors.
