Luxury’s Italian Supply Chain Reckoning Isn’t Over
The Business of Fashion Podcast

Luxury’s Italian Supply Chain Reckoning Isn’t Over

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 30, 202626 min

In 2024, Milan prosecutors uncovered sweatshop-like conditions within the Italian supply chains of major luxury brands, revealing that workers faced degrading living conditions, low pay, and 15-hour workdays. Nearly two years later, despite brands strengthening internal controls, increasing audits, and restricting subcontracting, labour groups report little fundamental change on the ground. This week, BoF’s Sarah Kent and Sheena Butler-Young explore whether the luxury sector's response has addressed the root causes of this exploitation, or merely added layers of compliance to the same flawed business model. Key Insights: Luxury’s supp...

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Hello and welcome to the Debris from the Business of Fashion where each week we delve into our most popular BOF professional stories with the correspondents who created them. I'm Senior Correspondent Sheena Butler-Young. In November 2024, here at BOF, we examined a scandal that challenged one of luxury's biggest

0:29

selling points, the promise of craftsmanship and quality behind the made in Italy label. Investigators in Milan had uncovered exploitative conditions at factories supplying some of fashion's biggest names. Workers were reportedly earning just a few euros an hour.

0:44

In some places, safety protocols were removed to speed up production, and in others, laborers were putting in 15-hour workdays while living in degraded conditions. The revelations raised questions not only about individual factories, but also about the way luxury brands manage their Italian supply chains.

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