MILAN, Italy: Following a 3.5 million euro (US$4 million) punishment from Italy’s antitrust body for what it described as unfair business practices, Giorgio Armani is coming under further scrutiny for the working conditions in its supply chain.
While outsourcing the majority of its leather products manufacturing to suppliers and subcontractors where labour conditions were determined to be subpar, the regulator said that Armani and one of its entities deceived customers by emphasising ethical and sustainable qualities in their marketing.
Despite Armani’s professed dedication to corporate responsibility, the research revealed that some of these third-party producers illegally exploited people in unsafe and unhygienic conditions.
The fashion business said it will contest the ruling in court and disputed the conclusions. “(The group) always operated with the highest fairness and transparency with customers, the market, and stakeholders, as proven by the Group’s history,” Armani stated in a statement, expressing “disappointment and bitterness” over the decision.
According to the watchdog, Armani “issued misleading ethical and social responsibility statements in contrast with the actual working conditions found at suppliers and subcontractors,” and the company failed to ensure that its production chain complied with these values while using sustainability as a marketing tool.
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