Boohoo Group publishes international suppliers list to drive transparency

Fast fashion giant Boohoo Group, has published its international factory list detailing 1,100 factories, following an extensive period of mapping and auditing that began in 2020.

The publication of the international factory list is part of its transparency pledge announced last year to publish it within twelve months of Alison Levitt QC’s Independent Review.

The organization has also stated its intention to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety. The legally binding agreement is a replacement for the Bangladesh Accord, which has resulted in major changes in Bangladeshi garment workers‘ working conditions.

The Independent Review set out 17 recommendations which were broken down into 34 deliverables as part of the Agenda for Change. The programme has accomplished 28 of these items so far, all of which are subject to a KPMG review cycle. The rest of the work is expected to be finished in the coming months.

Last year, Boohoo was engulfed in a media controversy over allegations that its Leicester-based supplier factories were underpaying workers and forcing them to work in hazardous conditions. Since then, the online fast-fashion giant has been working to rehabilitate its image.

Since then, Sir Brian Leveson has been in charge of the company’s Agenda for Change program, which has resulted in Boohoo publishing its entire UK manufacturing list. It’s also keeping an eye on all of its manufacturing supplier bases.

The company has also unveiled a new sustainability strategy – UP.FRONT, that outlines a series of measurable goals aimed at creating smarter clothing and securing better terms with its suppliers. Boohoo has joined the Fast Forward forensic auditing model and is now an active member of WRAP’s Textiles 2030 initiative.

It announced in June that it would grow its own sustainable cotton in Pakistan. In August, it welcomed consumers to see its new Leicester facility and learn more about its supply chain in an effort to expand its transparency efforts.

Leveson said that he continues to admire the enthusiasm that everyone at Boohoo has shown for the Agenda for Change Programme and chart the very real progress that has been made in connection to both the recommendations made in the Review and the larger ethical program on which the business has embarked. It signifies the transition of Agenda for Change (A4C) into normal operations, which is not, of course, the beginning of the end of the process, but rather the end of the beginning.

John Lyttle, CEO of the Boohoo group, said that the Agenda for Change program was designed to ensure that the changes they made to their business are sustainable and incorporated into their culture as they look to the future. They were able to achieve the challenging targets they set themselves thanks to the devotion of its staff to delivering meaningful change, and he’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in this, both within the Boohoo group and all of the external partners we have worked with, for their commitment.