BHRRC outreach to Barbour

Several months after the publication of Transparentem’s report we are inviting all brands identified in the investigation as sourcing from the factories to provide information:

1. On how the above violations have been addressed, and
2. Specifically to provide responses to the following questions:
   1. What steps has Barbour taken since the investigation’s publication to investigate the allegations brought to it by Transparentem? Has Barbour substantiated the outstanding allegations, particularly of recruitment fee-charging?
   2. If audits of the factory have been conducted, please disclose any and all audit reports from January 2023 to present.
   3. As of May 2024, is Barbour part of a buyer’s group at the factory? If yes, has it committed funds to remediate workers who were charged recruitment fees?
   4. Given your commitment in December 2023 to repay migrant workers for recruitment fees and related costs at R.E.A.L, what is the status of repayments?
   5. To date, what efforts have been made to address the allegations of abusive working and living conditions? How has the implementation of any improvement measures been substantiated by Barbour?

Barbour's response

Thank you for your enquiry. We consider the upholding of the rights of workers in Barbour’s supply chain to be of the utmost importance.

Barbour has committed to reimbursement for any impacted workers at R.E.A.L. Garments based on the proportion of our production capacity . We continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to remediate the matter as soon as possible.