Judicial administration for Loro Piana. The prosecution: 'Facilitated labour exploitation'.

Judicial administration has been ordered for Loro Piana spa, an Italian company of excellence in the luxury textile and high-end clothing sector, controlled by the French group Lvmh (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy). The investigations carried out by the prosecutors of Milan have 'made it possible to ascertain how Loro Piana spa had entrusted the production of clothing (including jackets) directly to Evergreen Fashion Group srl and that the production of these goods was carried out in working contexts where workers were exploited'.

The investigation, by the Carabinieri of the Labour Protection Command, is part of the broader investigation strand that is being followed by Milan's chief prosecutor, Marcello Viola, and deputy Paolo Storari. Similar measures have already been ordered against Armani Operation, Manufactures Dior, Alviero Martini and Valentino Bags. What emerges is a mechanism of labour exploitation along the luxury supply chain, which the further it moves away from the parent company - through the outsourcing of production - the more it becomes nobody's territory, without controls, without rights. Only violence. Like those suffered by H.X., a tailor of Chinese origin employed by Clover Moda srl, a company that produced for Loro Piana through the Evergreen Fashion Group. He claimed to have been violently beaten with fists in the face and beaten with plastic and aluminium pipes just for asking the manager of the company, Hu Xizhai, for the payment of back wages. An assault that allegedly lasted several hours.

According to the Court of Milan, 'the mechanism was culpably fuelled by Loro Piana spa'. Moreover, the magistrates added that 'it did not verify the real entrepreneurial capacity of the contracting and sub-contracting companies, to which it entrusted the production, and did not carry out effective inspections or audits over the years to ascertain in concrete terms the operation of the production chain and the actual working conditions and environments'.

In the evening, Loro Piana released an official note. "Loro Piana," reads the statement, "takes note of the notification received today from the Prevention Measures Section of the Court of Milan regarding labour practices carried out by undeclared and unauthorised sub-suppliers of one of its suppliers. In breach of its legal and contractual obligations, the supplier did not inform Loro Piana of the existence of these sub-suppliers. Loro Piana became aware of this situation on 20 May and consequently broke off all relations with the supplier involved in less than 24 hours. Loro Piana," the note continues, "strongly condemns any illegal practice and reiterates its continued commitment to protecting human rights and complying with all applicable regulations throughout the entire production chain. Loro Piana is committed to ensuring that all its suppliers respect the Maison's highest quality and ethical standards, in line with its Code of Conduct. With this in mind, Loro Piana constantly reviews and continues to strengthen its control and audit activities. The costs reported," the note concludes, "are not representative of the amounts actually paid by Loro Piana to the supplier, nor do they reflect the entire production process and the total value of all elements, including, among others, raw materials and fabrics. Loro Piana expresses its total willingness to cooperate with the competent authorities on the matter and intends to provide the utmost support for any further investigations'.