Zara supplier accused of slave labour in Brazil

SPANISH clothing store Zara is under investigation by Brazil’s labour ministry after a supplier was accused of slave labour.

Government investigators raided four Sao Paulo sweatshops in late June, union officials told Reuters. All the garments discovered in the investigation were labelled with the Zara brand. Zara is owned by the world’s largest clothing retailer, Inditex.

“Before then, we had never received accusations” against Zara, said Maria Susiclea Assis, who heads the Sao Paulo-based seamstress union.

The workers in the shops were from Boliva and Peru, she added.

Inditex, run until last month by 75-year-old founder Amancio Ortega, listed by Forbes as the 7th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $31 billion, said in a statement sent from Sao Paulo that the case involved “unauthorised outsourcing” by a Brazilian supplier for the company.

The company did not name the supplier.

The investigation comes as the Brazilian government cracks down on slave labour in the logging, charcoal and sugar cane industries.

Labour ministry representatives were not available for comment.

Earlier this year, hundreds of workers fainted at Cambodian textile factories due to sweltering heat, long shifts and chemical exposure, putting major retailers H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, Marks & Spencer Group Plc and Inditex in the spotlight and their suppliers under investigation.

Inditex confirmed an investigation discovered 16 unregistered workers in violation of the company’s code of conduct, adding that the ministry is regularising the workers’ situation.

Inditex will make sure their working conditions comply with company standards.

“The supplier was entirely responsible for the financial compensation of the workers, as established in Brazilian law and Inditex’s code of conduct,” the company statement said.

About 50% of the clothes and accessories sold by Zara are made in Spain, while 26% are produced in the rest of Europe and 24% in Asian and African countries and the rest of the world where labour is cheaper.

Zara is present in more than 78 markets worldwide, including Ireland, with a network of more than 5,000 stores and 92,000 employees.