Next, Zara and Mango have all been called on to pay up over half a million pounds they owed to Turkish factory workers for over a year.
The three major fashion retailers have been accused of failing to pay factory workers for three months of labour and an online petition calling on all conscientious consumers to help the factory staff has been launched.
One hundred and forty workers at the Bravo Tekstil factory in Istanbul, which produced clothes for all three companies, were left without pay for three months following its sudden closure in 2016.
The workers are calling for “what is rightfully ours” alongside severance pay in a total sum worth around £570,000.
Since last year the workers have attempted to recoup their losses with the help of trade unions and the Clean Clothes Campaign but have failed to reach a settlement.
Three quarters of the factory’s production was reportedly for Zara, yet its owner Inditex has refused to take full responsibility for the payment.
Both Next and Mango have also said they would not take full responsibility for the compensation, with total offers reportedly accounting for a quarter of the owed amount.
“Brands are principal employers. They have proven time and again that they control every aspect of their orders to their suppliers,” Clean Clothes Campaign‘s Bego Demir said.
“Therefore, it is clear that it is in their power to make sure that all workers who produce their apparel receive their monthly wages and are working in safe conditions, and morally they must do so.”
