Boohoo shares continue to fall after Leicester factory worker exploitation claims
Shares in fast fashion brand Boohoo plunged for the second day in a row following allegations that workers at the retailer’s factory in Leicester were paid illegally low wages.
The e-commerce retailer’s shares plummeted more than 13 per cent this morning to 255.5p, after falling more than 18 per cent yesterday.
The losses came after the Sunday Times reported that workers at the Jaswal Fashions factory in Leicester, which makes clothes for Boohoo’s Nasty Gal brand, were paid as little as £3.50 per hour.
In a statement yesterday Boohoo said that if true the allegations are “totally unacceptable and fall woefully short of any standards acceptable in any workplace”.
“Our early investigations have revealed that Jaswal Fashions is not a declared supplier and is also no longer trading as a garment manufacturer,” the company said.
“It therefore appears that a different company is using Jaswal’s former premises and we are currently trying to establish the identity of this company.
“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 sub-contracted work to the manufacturer in question.”
The National Crime Agency has also announced that it will investigate the textiles industry in Leicester following allegations of exploitation of factory workers.
An NCA spokesperson said: “Within the last few days NCA officers, along with Leicestershire Police and other partner agencies, attended a number of business premises in the Leicester area to assess concerns of modern slavery and human trafficking.”