Italian police seek governance documents from 13 fashion firms in labour abuse probe

Prosecutors did not seek court-appointed administration for the 13 because the quantities of their products found in the Chinese workshops inspected were smaller, the documents show. The purpose of the requests, according to judicial documents reviewed by Reuters, is to allow prosecutors to assess how far the 13 companies were involved in the use of exploited labour and whether their compliance and governance models are adequate to prevent abuse.

Italian police on Wednesday visited the headquarters of 13 high-end fashion firms, asking them to hand over documents on governance and supply-chain controls as part of an investigation into alleged worker abuse at fashion subcontractors, judicial documents showed.

The brands that received document production orders are Dolce & Gabbana, Gianni Versace, Prada, Adidas Italy , Off-White Operating, Missoni, Ferragamo, Givenchy Italia, Alexander McQueen Italia, Guccio Gucci , Yves Saint Laurent Manifatture, Cris Conf. (Pinko) and Coccinelle. None of these companies is under investigation and prosecutors have not sought to impose court-appointed administration for any of them, according to the orders seen by Reuters.

In the past two years, five other high-end fashion groups have been placed under such administration and the same measure has been requested for a sixth, in a string of cases that have tainted the image of some of the biggest names in the industry. The 13 brands were drawn into the probe because, during dozens of searches of Chinese-owned workshops which led Milan prosecutors to request or impose judicial administration on the six companies, police also found garments and subcontracting documents relating to these other labels.

The operation on Wednesday was led by the Carabinieri labour unit in Milan, supported by officers in Florence, Parma and Varese. Prosecutors did not seek court-appointed administration for the 13 because the quantities of their products found in the Chinese workshops inspected were smaller, the documents show.

The purpose of the requests, according to judicial documents reviewed by Reuters, is to allow prosecutors to assess how far the 13 companies were involved in the use of exploited labour and whether their compliance and governance models are adequate to prevent abuse. Once they have handed over the requested material, the 13 companies will be able to address any issues identified on their own initiative by adjusting their organisational models.

If they fail to do so, Milan prosecutors reserve the right to take further preventive or precautionary measures, the documents show.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)