"Milan probes into Dior suppliers' illegal labour unsettle luxury sector,"

The Dior leather bag supplier Milan investigators long had their eyes on was located close to the Via del Lavoro in the suburban city of Opera — or labour street. But behind its doors they uncovered employment practices of another age.

They found evidence of illegally hired workers, forced to sleep inside the factory and work long hours, including nights and holidays, in an unsafe environment, according to a statement from the Milan prosecutor’s office...

As a result, an Italy-based Dior subsidiary — Manufactures Dior — was placed under court administration this month for failing to carry out appropriate due diligence and supervise its suppliers.

The Milan prosecutor declined to comment. Dior, which is not under investigation, declined to comment...

“We often view the low prices and resultant labour rights abuse as baked into the fast fashion model but those problems are more pervasive than that,” says Natalie Swan, labour rights programme manager at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. “There’s the expectation that if you are buying something luxury it is very bespoke and has been created closer to home. Often, that’s not the case.”

She warned that in the face of uncertain consumer and demand and rising raw materials costs, “it might mean a doubling down of the worst elements of the business model, which is to put the price and cost of these changes on to the workers and the upstream supply chain rather than impact profit margins”...