Antitrust authority carried out searches on Tuesday at the companies of the Armani and Dior groups. Italy’s competition authority says it is investigating whether luxury brands Armani and Dior have misled consumers, following inquiries by prosecutors into worker exploitation at suppliers of the two groups. “In both cases, the companies may have issued untrue statements about their ethics and social responsibility, in particular with regard to working conditions and compliance with the law by their suppliers,” the competition watchdog said on Wednesday.
Keep reading It noted that the companies “emphasised craftsmanship and quality”. “However, in order to make certain articles and clothing accessories the companies allegedly used supplies from workshops and factories employing workers who would receive inadequate wages,” it added. “In addition, such workers would work hours in excess of the legal limits and in inadequate health and safety conditions, in contrast to the production excellence levels the companies pride themselves.
” Prosecutors in Milan uncovered workshops on the outskirts of Italy’s fashion capital this year where underpaid workers, often immigrants who were in the country illegally, produced leather bags then sold to Armani and Dior for a tiny fraction of their retail price. They placed under investigation several Chinese-owned Italian suppliers of Dior and Armani, while appointing commissioners to oversee the units of the two groups that out.
