Retailer boohoo Group PLC has been found to have mislabelled items of clothing made in South Asia as ‘Made in the UK’, according to a BBC investigation.

A Panorama investigation found the company removed the original labels on T-shirts and hoodies at the retailer’s controversial factory at Thurmaston Lane in Leicester between January and October last year.

A spokesperson from boohoo told the BBC the mislabelling was an ‘isolated incident’ and a result of ‘human error’.

‘We have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again.’

boohoo is considering closing its Leicester factory and relocating operations.

The company said less than 100 employees at the Thurmaston Lane factory may be impacted by the closure and it expects ‘some roles will be relocated’.

The clothing retailer said the plans to shut the site were not related to the findings of the Panorama investigation, adding that due to ‘significant investments’ at its Sheffield and US distribution centres, it must take steps to ensure it is a ‘more efficient, productive and strengthened business’.

In November last year, a Panorama investigation claimed an undercover reporter working for the business found employees pressuring suppliers to reduce prices even after deals had been agreed and that boohoo Group’s Leicester factory had been subcontracting orders to Morocco.

It comes around three years after the company overhauled its ethical practices after a supply chain scandal and allegations over factory staff pay and working conditions.

boohoo said at the time of the initial Panorama investigation that it ‘has not shied away from dealing with the problems of the past and we have invested significant time, effort and resource into driving positive change across every aspect of our business and supply chain’.

By Cormac Pearson, PA

source: PA

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