UK: We need a new law to root out corporate supply chain abuses — wherever they take place
12 March 2021
The now all too familiar, shocking allegations of forced labour at Boohoo factories in Leicester are once again grabbing headlines.
Last week Boohoo was hit with a double whammy as US lawmakers are mulling a potential import ban against the company, and UK MPs are asking for a long-term bonus scheme to be linked to supply chain improvements.
It’s abundantly clear that despite repeated scandals and inquiries — and share prices fluctuating in line with each new development — the problems of Boohoo and other companies tackling abuses in supply chains, whether in the UK, China or anywhere else, remain far from solved.
As we recover from Covid-19, the government must act not just to ensure that supply chains are resilient but also that they are governed by frameworks protecting human rights and our environmental, so that resilient business is responsible business.