{"id":166917,"date":"2020-07-16T10:16:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T10:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/leicester-and-the-boohoo-bombshell-what-can-uk-fashion-manufacturing-do-to-move-forward\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T12:06:32","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T12:06:32","slug":"leicester-and-the-boohoo-bombshell-what-can-uk-fashion-manufacturing-do-to-move-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/leicester-and-the-boohoo-bombshell-what-can-uk-fashion-manufacturing-do-to-move-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Leicester and the Boohoo bombshell: what can UK fashion manufacturing do to move forward?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Leicester forms the heart of British fashion manufacturing and it should be a centre of excellence of which the industry and the nation can be proud. However the city and its garment makers have found themselves at the centre of a media storm<\/strong> focused on allegations of underpayment of staff and unsafe working practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The city was forced into a second lockdown due to a localised outbreak of the virus and several garment factories were forced to close as high numbers of cases were discovered. This prompted national journalists to probe the industry and resulted in reporters from The Sunday Times<\/em> and The Guardian<\/em> going undercover in the city to unearth unethical practice.<\/p>\n The Sunday Times<\/em> report rocked the market<\/a> and, in particular, one of UK fashion's fastest growing businesses, Boohoo<\/strong>. A company operating in a building with the Jaswal Fashions brand above the door, but which in fact turned out to be an entity called Morefray, offered staff just \u00a33.50 to work in its factory where clothes destined for Boohoo and its subsidiary Nasty Gal were seen.<\/p>\n Following the revelation, more than a \u00a31bn was wiped off Boohoo's share price<\/strong> and, while it insisted that the supplier in question had been subcontracted packing work without its knowledge, it appointed a leading QC to investigate its supply chain. Some investors, however, remained unconvinced and one of its largest, Standard Life Aberdeen, ditched shares worth \u00a380m. Its smaller fast fashion rival QUIZ faced similar allegations<\/a> the following week.<\/p>\n That there are factories in Leicester operating outside of the law and ethical norms is no secret, but just how big is the problem and why does it happen?<\/strong> In a city with 1,400 garment manufacturers, the vast majority are ethical operators but do we risk all of them being tarred with the same brush?<\/p>\n We speak to four industry experts, including two manufacturers (one of whom is based in Leicester), to help understand the extent of the problem and what can be done to ensure that British fashion manufacturing can prosper in future without the shadow of unethical practice hanging over it.<\/p>\n