From Markets Now, July 6:
Happy Monday. Scoreboards first, then let’s get on with sweatshops.
***Boohoo’s down 12 per cent or thereabouts after the Sunday Times did some undercover reporting at a factory operating behind a sign that said Jaswal Fashions, which stitched clothes with a Nasty Gal label and packed them into boxes that said Morefray Limited.
The rap sheet has to be written in this strained way because of the nest of contractors and subcontractors through which Boohoo and its peers operate. Provenance is murky and blame can always be shifted elsewhere. Boohoo said this morning that it didn’t and still doesn’t know the identity of the company making its clothes. That’s it. That’s its defence. Really. Look:
Our early investigations have revealed that Jaswal Fashions is not a declared supplier and is also no longer trading as a garment manufacturer. It therefore appears that a different company is using Jaswal’s former premises and we are currently trying to establish the identity of this company. We are taking immediate action to thoroughly investigate how our garments were in their hands, will ensure that our suppliers immediately cease working with this company, and we will urgently review our relationship with any suppliers who have sub-contracted work to the manufacturer in question.You probably didn’t spot Boohoo’s promise to strengthen its existing systems and supplier checks, because there isn’t one. You probably didn’t see the commitment to launch an independent enquiry either, for the same reason. The total absence of any actual action does nothing to dispel the impression that wilful blindness to exploitation is threaded into the DNA of the fashion industry.
And what of the buck passing? We’re indebted to the guys over at Small Caps Live for going through the Companies House filings and doing some six degrees of corporate separation stuff........MUCH MORE
For a guy who basically writes on the fly, Mr. Elder does a remarkably deep deep-dive into a nasty business while maintaining focus on the markets angle.
Or if you prefer your Bryce piping hot from the oven, here's today's Markets Now.
Here's the FT's Statement on Slavery, they're against it.
