Boohoo switches auditing model

Reuters has reported that online retailer Boohoo will be moving all of its suppliers to a new auditing model over the next 12 months. This was in response to controversies over their supply chain and poor labor practices.

Last July the the London-based company commixed a review after the British press exposed them for subpar factory working conditions and low wages. According to The Sunday Times, Boohoo was only paying their garment workers the equivalent of 4 dollars and 89 cents per hours.

Prior to the pandemic, Boohoo was considered one of the fastest growing retailers in Britain. However, in 2020, The New York Times referred to the company as “the newest face of worker exploitation.”

Some of the accusations mad against Boohoo aside from low wages included employees working without proper equipment to protect against COVID-19 and no social distancing measures in place to reduce employees risk of COVID-19 contraction.

In a statement, Boohoo said, “Suppliers are visited more frequently, sub-contracting has been removed, products can only be purchased from our approved supplier list; mandatory whistle-blower helplines have been installed at every supplier.”