Italian police launch operation in textile worker exploitation investigation targeting luxury fashion brands

Italian police raided the offices of eleven luxury fashion brands as part of an investigation into whether they were complicit in the exploitation of textile workers. In the investigation led by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office, brands such as Chanel, Bulgari, Goyard, Moncler, and Brunello Cucinelli were asked to hand over documents regarding deliveries and working conditions throughout their entire production supply chain.

According to the investigation, the brands in question are suspected of working with subcontractors who employ Chinese workers. In May, products bearing the logos of the fashion houses were seized in two factories searched by the police around Milan. It was discovered that individuals without residence permits were working in these facilities, and that the premises were unsafe and unhygienic.

The Prosecutor's Office stated that workers were paid extremely low wages and subjected to 'accommodation conditions that undermine human dignity.' The fashion houses in question will have to explain what measures they have taken to prevent exploitation in their supply chains in the coming weeks. If the measures taken are deemed insufficient, the brands will be placed under judicial supervision.