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MILAN — Over the past five years, Prada has stopped working with over 200 suppliers — more than a quarter of those inspected — after they were found to have breached compliance rules, the Milanese fashion group said on Friday, confirming a report by the Financial Times.
Prada launched an audit of its Italian suppliers in 2020, which involved more than 850 physical inspections of suppliers and subcontractors. It uncovered serious breaches of labour law, including sleeping quarters found in factories. There were more instances of non-compliance in other areas, however, related to health and safety measures and the handling of waste.
The group now works with around 1,000 suppliers and subcontractors in the north and centre of Italy. The country’s luxury supply chain has been hit with a series of sweatshop scandals linked to some of fashion’s biggest names, including Armani, Dior, Valentino and Loro Piana, following investigations by Milan prosecutors.
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Inside Luxury’s Italian Sweatshops Problem
An Italian probe linking luxury labels including Dior and Armani to labour exploitation — with the supply chains of up to a dozen more brands under the microscope — has exposed a seedy practice deeply embedded in the luxury system, creating an unpredictable PR crisis at a precarious time for the sector, a BoF investigation has found.
