LVMH’s Italian subsidiary has been pulled into a probe involving worker exploitation practices. The French luxury company’s unit making Dior bags has allegedly been handing work to Chinese-owned firms that mistreat workers. A Milan court looking into the matter said that the pattern of big fashion companies in Italy allegedly violating worker rules wasn’t a one-off occurrence and was often done to increase profits.
The court has placed the unit, called Manufactures Dior SRL and fully owned by Christian Dior Italia SRL, under court administration on Monday, Reuters reported . “It’s not something sporadic that concerns single production lots, but a generalised and consolidated manufacturing method,” the document viewed by the outlet said. The investigation looked at four suppliers who were based near Milan and employed 32 people, of whom two were illegal immigrants while seven others lacked sufficient documentation.
Local police inspected the suppliers’ factories earlier in the year, and found that workers were subject to “hygiene and health conditions that are below the minimum required by an ethical approach,” the court document said. Of the egregious practices, the ruling found that employees slept at their workplace just to ensure they were “available 24 hours a day.” Safety devices on machines were also removed so operations could be faster, thus curbing production costs down to as little as €53 ($57) for a handbag that’s otherwise sold at €2,60.
