According to the Financial timesSince 2020, the Milan-based company has carried out more than 850 on-site inspections among its Italian suppliers and subcontractors, including night surveillance outside the subcontractors’ factories. More than a quarter of inspections resulted in dismissals.
In its audit, it found evidence of serious violations of labor law, including the presence of dormitories within factories where workers slept. However, these were less common than other forms of non-compliance, such as inadequate health and safety measures and problems in the way waste is handled.
The report says Prada currently has around 1,000 registered suppliers and subcontractors.
Italy’s luxury fashion industry has come under intense scrutiny during a lengthy and acrimonious investigation by Milan prosecutors into alleged labor abuses in its domestic supply chain.
Last October, the Milan Prosecutor’s Office reportedly requested that shoemaker Tod’s be placed under judicial administration for alleged labor exploitation in its factories based in China.
It came after it emerged that Italy’s Industry Minister was weighing the introduction of a certification system after LVMH’s Loro Piana brand was placed under receivership over alleged labor exploitation.
While Prada is not under investigation, Milanese prosecutors in December asked the group to hand over information about its supply chain.
The luxury brand told the Financial Times it carried out 188 supplier inspections last year, resulting in 43 layoffs.
The rate of terminations has slowed since Prada began audits in 2020, when it carried out 143 inspections and more than half resulted in the termination of supply contracts. The layoff rate “decreased because we took a zero-tolerance approach,” Prada said.
Prada did not respond to a request for comment when approached by Just Style.
“Prada ‘Zero Tolerance’ Supply Chain Investigation Results in Layoffs of 200 Suppliers” was created and originally published by Just Style, a brand owned by GlobalData.
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