Primark and Zara slammed for 'unacceptable purchasing practices' uncovered in Scots study

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Primark and Zara bosses have come under fire for 'unacceptable purchasing practices' recently uncovered by researchers.The two fashion houses are among dozens of brands revealed to be paying below the cost of production - with the majority of factories selling to the largest retailers paying the same prices despite the cost of raw materials increasing.

The study, conducted by the University of Aberdeen and charity Transform Trade, said suppliers named 1,138 brands they had contracts with in February 2020 and of those, 37% were reported as having engaged in unfair practices.More than half of suppliers said they had suffered unfair purchasing practices, including cancellations, failure to pay, delays in payment and discount demands, with knock-on effects including forced overtime and harassment.

Since the revelations were published today, campaigners have called for a fashion watchdog to be set up in order to halt the 'unfair' practices.Fiona Gooch, senior policy adviser at Transform Trade, described the findings as a “wake-up call”.“We need a fashion watchdog to stop unacceptable purchasing practices of the clothing retailers benefiting from large consumer markets, along the same lines as existing protections for food suppliers,” she said.“Only when suppliers are able to plan ahead, with confidence that they will earn as expected, can they deliver good working conditions for their workers.”Zara, the report said, had 90 factories producing for the brand in March 2020.

Researchers said 31% of factories reported cancelled or partially cancelled orders, 27% had price reductions, 10% had orders which the firm refused to pay for while in transit or production, and 30% had reported payment being delayed for at least three