We applaud the letter from the Chair of the EAC to Boohoo senior executives, following up on its earlier review, and asking serious questions related to reports of poor pay and dangerous conditions in Leicester garment factories supplying the company. 

It is important to hold individual companies to account and Boohoo as a successful, high profile and iconic brand merits the scrutiny the Committee is bringing.

Are we prepared to tolerate abuse, whether in the garment industry, or in agriculture, which has also been in the news this week? Or do we want to establish an environment where responsible business is the norm?

However the solution lies beyond the behaviour of one brand or indeed one city. It really goes to the heart of what we want from the UK for the future. Are we prepared to tolerate abuse, whether in the garment industry, or in agriculture, which has also been in the news this week? Or do we want to establish an environment where responsible business is the norm?

The former results in the pursuit of unrealistic prices and a largely unregulated business environment, devolving responsibility to individual businesses to act responsibly. The latter comes not through a desire to do good, but because investment and business genuinely thrives when it harnesses creativity, productivity and efficiency based on decent work conditions, and well paid and protected workers with a stake in their workplace. Thankfully there are many examples of this in the UK that we can point to.

We cannot and should not aim to compete on low cost, low price, but on innovation, creativity, talent and adaptability.  

Boohoo is a poster child for the wrong type of business success. But fixing Boohoo does not fix the problem. The right approach is one that is a smart combination of effective regulation, well-funded and supported regulatory agencies, transparency that rewards responsible business and punishes those willing to break the law or lower standards for short term gain, workers with a voice in their workplace and consumers who do not have to choose between ethical products and those tainted by exploitation.

We cannot and should not aim to compete on low cost, low price, but on innovation, creativity, talent and adaptability.  

If we can't tackle exploitation in the UK, or close by in Spanish horticulture, our claim to support Human Rights at Work (and, indeed, Britain's global legitimacy) is seriously undermined. 

After many years of disappointment in trying to raise these issues, there is now a real chance that the government recognises the need for leadership, and the importance of working with business and workers' representatives to establish the conditions that stamp out exploitation. And enable responsible business to flourish providing the decent jobs that will be vital as we plot our way out of the current economic crisis. 

ETI letter to Environmental Audit Committee

USDAW letter to Environmental Audit Committee

Blog post

Statement to the EAC regarding ETI and Boohoo

An open letter from ETI Director Peter McAllister, to the Environmental Audit Committee regarding ETI's contact with Boohoo

Read more