The luxury house Loro Piana pinned by Italian justice

The Italian fashion house Loro Piana, owned by the French luxury giant LVMH, was placed under “judicial administration” in Italy, for having “easily facilitated” the exploitation of workers at subcontractors, the carabiniers announced on Monday.

In a press release, the riflemen of the working conditions of working conditions say they “executed a decree of judicial administration of the Milan court” against this house, renowned for her cashmere clothes, deemed “unable to prevent and stem phenomena of manpower in the context of the production” of his collections.

Loro Piana is accused of “not having implemented the appropriate measures to verify the actual working conditions (…) of subcontracting companies”. The judges of the Milan court believe that the management of Loro Piana has “easierly facilitated” the exploitation of labor, because of a “generalized deficiency of models of organizations and a faulty internal audit system”.

According to investigators, the house confided in clothing to a company without any productive capacity, which itself resorted to another company, which in turn called on workshops employing Chinese workers in Italy to lower its costs. In these workshops, workers were used in an irregular situation without respecting the legislation on health and safety in the workplace, in particular for “wages, working hours, breaks and holidays”.

The investigation began last May, after the complaint of a Chinese worker who has gone to tobacco by his boss because he demanded the payment of his wages of wages. The riflemen found that workers were housed in “dormitories built improperly and under hygienic and health conditions below the ethical minimum”.

Two Chinese nationals owners of workshops were referred to justice for the exploitation of labor, as well as two Italians for violations of standards on health and safety in the workplace. Seven workers without stay titles were also sent to justice.

The court also inflicted fines in the amount of more than 181,000 euros and administrative sanctions of more than 59,750 euros. The activities of two Chinese workshops were also suspended “for serious security violations and use of black work”.

Loro Piana had been bought by LVMH in 2013. The current president of the company is Antoine Arnault, eldest son of Bernard Arnault, boss of LVMH, including another son, Frédéric, is director general of this Italian subsidiary. Several prestigious fashion houses, including Armani, have already been pinned by Italian justice in similar cases.

The Italian Competition Authority thus forced the luxury brand Dior in May, also belonging to LVMH, to pay two million euros in assistance to the “operating victims”, as part of a survey on the working conditions of its subcontractors. Contacted by AFP, neither Loro Piana nor LVMH were able to react immediately.