// Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing ensures suppliers will receive payment amid Covid-19
// There will be no change to the payment schedules in place prior to the disruptions
Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing has said it is committed to ensuring suppliers get the money they’re owed amid the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.
It stated that protecting the security and safety of those who help to make its garments is one of its most important responsibilities.
Fashion Network reported it has “committed from the outset to payment for complete orders and orders where production has commenced, with no change to payment schedules in place prior to Covid-19 disruptions”.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Fashion retailers urged to protect garment workers
It also said it would use fabrics or materials that have already been purchased to fulfil orders or will provide compensation should they later become unnecessary.
Fast Retailing will consult with each of its production partners in accordance with its Responsible Procurement Policy to offer support if needed.
This will include a number of measures such as adjusting production schedules and re-allocating its orders among partner factories to ensure factories don’t face unacceptable financials risks or pressures.
Fashion Network reported that Fast Retailing believes that “brands in our industry have an important role to play in mitigating the humanitarian and economic threats posed by the Covid-19 pandemic”.
The company has engaged with BetterWork, a joint program between the International Labor Organization and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation to strengthen sanitisation measures and to help them understand their obligations to employees in case of factory closure.
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