Asos and Next have dropped Boohoo clothing from their websites after the claims surrounding a Leicester factory.
The Manchester-based fashion brand has said that it will investigate the use of a factory in Leicester after concerns were raised by a government minister following allegations in a newspaper.
It said it is looking into allegations relating to Jaswal Fashion factory following an investigation my the Sunday Times.
But Next and Asos, as well as online retailers, including Zalando and Very.co.uk, have also temporarily suspended the sale of Boohoo items.
A spokesman for Next said the fashion giant stopped selling items from Boohoo brands last week after campaign group Labour Behind The Label first raised concerns.
The spokesman said: "Next concluded there is a case for Boohoo Group to answer.
"Next needs to prove to itself the two Boohoo Group labels that it was stocking are being sourced in a manner that is appropriate and acceptable to Next.
"Next therefore has its own investigation under way to ascertain whether they are being made in a way that Next does not approve of."
Boohoo said in a statement on Monday that Jaswal Fashions is 'not a declared supplier' and that it 'appeared that a different company is using Jaswal's former premises'.
"We are currently trying to establish the identity of this company," the statement added.
"We are taking immediate action to thoroughly investigate how our garments were in their hands, will ensure that our suppliers immediately cease working with this company, and we will urgently review our relationship with any suppliers who have subcontracted work to the manufacturer in question."
Boohoo has now issued a full statement on the claims made about treatment of workers in the Leicester factory.
In an announcement on the London Stock Exchange website, the group clarified its position on the claims that have been made, and confirmed the next steps it will be taking.
The statement reads: "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. To support this, we are:
- Launching an immediate independent review of our UK supply chain, led by Alison Levitt QC
- Making an initial commitment to invest an incremental £10 million to eradicate supply chain malpractice
- Accelerating our independent third party supply chain review with ethical audit and compliance specialists, Verisio and Bureau Veritas
"We take extremely seriously all allegations of malpractice, poor working conditions, and underpayment of workers.
"The Group will not tolerate any incidence of non-compliance with its Code of Conduct or any mistreatment of workers, and will not hesitate to terminate relationships with any supplier who does not comply.
"We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Home Secretary and the local authority on any future investigations to help eliminate any instances of labour malpractice in Leicester."
In a comment on previous media commentary, the Group says: "As soon as the Group was made aware of the allegations of mistreatment of garment workers by our third party suppliers, as detailed in the 6 July announcement, an immediate investigation was launched.
"Our findings show some inaccuracies with last Sunday's media report. The garments featured were not actually manufactured in Leicester, but in Morocco. Post production, the garments were shipped back to the UK by the supplier to be repackaged into compliant boxes for delivery to the Group's international distribution centre in Burnley. This was the process that was filmed at a premises formerly operated by Jaswal Fashions Limited.
"Jaswal Fashions Limited, contrary to the media report, is not and has never been a supplier for the Group, and does not operate in the unit stated. Investigations over the last 72 hours have highlighted that the order from Nasty Gal was placed with Revolution Clothing Co Limited, who then instructed Morefray Limited to manufacture in Morocco and repackage the garments on their behalf in Leicester.
"Our investigation to date has not found evidence of suppliers paying workers £3.50 per hour. However we have found other evidence of non-compliance with our Code of Conduct and the Group has taken the decision to immediately terminate its relationship with both suppliers."
Within the letter, the Boohoo Group also outlines its commitment to UK manufacturing.
It says: "boohoo supports UK manufacturing and the British fashion industry. boohoo does not own or operate any manufacturing facilities. We have a global and flexible supply chain and at this time around 40% of the products that we sell are manufactured in the UK, supporting thousands of jobs in this country that may otherwise be lost to overseas markets.
"Producing garments in the UK does not bring a cost advantage for the Group. We produce garments in the UK because of its proximity to our international distribution centres, giving the Group additional flexibility to react to the latest trends for our customers.
"The Group is wholly committed to continuing to have garments manufactured in the UK and we will develop initiatives to further support our suppliers.
"Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have stood side by side with our manufacturers, continuing to pay them promptly with our industry-leading 14-day payment terms for all of their orders. During this period, the Group has not taken advantage of any of the financial support that has been made available by the UK Government in either grant or loan form."
John Lyttle, Group CEO, says: "As a board we are deeply shocked by the recent allegations about the Leicester garment industry. We wish to reiterate how seriously we are taking these matters and we will not hesitate to terminate any relationships where non-compliance with our Code of Conduct is found.
"Our commitment to an incremental £10 million of investment demonstrates our resolve to enforce the highest standards of ethics, compliance and transparency for the benefit of all garment workers. We look forward to regularly updating our stakeholders as we move through this process."
The full letter can be found on the London Stock Exchange website.
