We take our responsibility to the workers who make our clothes very seriously and are extremely concerned to hear about these allegations, which go against our own Code of Conduct and the guiding principles by which we’re responsibly exiting Myanmar. While both factories have been suspended due to a breach of our Code of Conduct for some time, we’re working closely with them to understand that their responsibilities to the workers they employed are being upheld, including the payment of all wages and compensation owed to them. We now have confirmation that all workers will be paid in full this week and our Ethical Trade team on the ground will continue to monitor progress on this carefully.”

On background

• Following the publication of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI)’s independent, evidence-based assessment on human rights and responsible business conduct within the country in September, we made the difficult decision to begin a responsible exit from the country. Please see more information and our full position on sourcing from Myanmar here.
• We continue to expect our suppliers to comply with our Code of Conduct, which includes protecting the safety and rights of workers.
• As we work to exit the country responsibly, we’ve enhanced our due diligence on the ground by doubling the size of our local Ethical Trade team. This enables us to visit the approved supplier factories we work with more regularly, giving us greater visibility to working conditions and allowing us to engage with the workers and stakeholders more frequently.