Luxury Brand Valentino Under Italian Court Scanner Over Worker Exploitation
There have been developments that have brought to light concerning labour practices being undertaken at Valentino Bags Lab Srl, which is a branch of the luxury Italian fashion house Valentino. The concern has been under judicial administration for one year followed by an investigation that revealed cases of work force exploitation in their supply chain. A Milan court has found the company failed to monitor suppliers and was driven by profit motives.
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As per a 30-page court ruling obtained by Reuters, the judicial oversight was ordered after it was unearthed that Valentino Bags Lab failed to monitor and regulate its suppliers. According to the court, this failure was caused due to the pursuit of higher profits which came at the expense of legal and ethical compliances. The resultant administrative period could be lifted before time if the company demonstrates corrective action and aligns practices with the Italian labour laws.
This is not the first time such scrutiny has befallen a luxury design house in the recent history. In fact, it is the fourth such case that has been handled by the Milan court in less than two years' time; that details a pattern of supply chain exploitation within luxury fashion labels operating out of Italy.
Other brands that have previously been placed under the radar of the court are Dior's Italian division owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, Giorgio Armani and Alveiro Martini. All of which managed to settle the practices and get early termination of their administration periods.
These legal interventions come as a growing effort in Italy to counter labour exploitation in the luxury fashion industry. As the scrutiny intensifies on luxury labels' backend operations, it serves as a warning stating that even the most prestigious brands are not immune to having accountability on the protection of workers' rights.
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