We were in contact with ICN before the publication of the report and were given the opportunity to review some general text from the report. At this time we asked if ICN could provide us with factory information to enable us to identify the one factory that we are linked with in the report. Understandably they would not supply us with the factory name in order to ensure there was no retaliation on workers.

So given the general and anonymised information in the report and a lack of factory name, we carried out some due diligence checks on the factories within the area but we could not carry out a full investigation and provide evidence in response to the specific allegations in the unknown factory.

In addition, for the past 2 years we have published our Human Rights report highlighting the salient issues in our supply chain and specifically in India we have also highlighted recruitment practices of migrant workers. As part of several multistakeholder groups including the ETI TMNS which focussed on and resulted in a hostel guidelines document, and the Brands Ethical working group, we are working collaboratively with many of the Brands mentioned in the report in order to tackle some of the systemic issues within the garment industry...

We would also like to say that research and reports such as these are important in highlighting issues and especially if differences are found in treatment of different categories of workers. Therefore we will continue to implement our policies and principles and take on board the information and the findings in the report on the employment conditions of migrant workers, and work with brands to ensure good recruitment practices for migrant workers within our supply chain.