Scandal-hit retailer Boohoo has slashed its supplier network by more than 400 firms amid an overhaul after allegations over working conditions for factory staff.
The online fashion firm revealed a list of 78 approved suppliers across 100 factories – a significant drop on the estimated 500 suppliers previously identified in an independent review of the business by Alison Levitt QC.
It follows moves by Boohoo to sever ties with some factories, consolidate others and cut out subcontracting.
Boohoo has been seeking to repair its reputation after it was alleged last year that some factories in the UK working for the firm were paying staff as little as £3.50 an hour and had working conditions which did not meet lockdown restrictions.
John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, said: “This is the not the end of a project for us at Boohoo but the beginning of a new way of working with our suppliers.
“We are driving positive change in the industry and want to play our part in rebuilding a vibrant manufacturing base in Leicester, one that offers good employment and great prospects for the workers and the industry in Leicester as a whole.
“The publication of our UK Supply Chain List marks another step on our journey towards greater transparency and embedding positive change, not only in our own organisation, but through the wider network of businesses that make up our supply chain.”
