Boohoo found to be mislabelling clothes at Leicester factory

Online fashion retailer Boohoo could have mislabelled hundreds of thousands of garments at its “model” Leicester factory, according to a BBC Panorama documentary.

The Manchester-based group has been found removing the original labels on clothes and replacing them with “Made in the UK” substitutes.

The BBC investigation showed that the mislabelling took place between January and October of last year.

Boohoo has said the mislabelling was a result of “human error”.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again.”

Dr Ryan Cushley-Spendiff, lecturer at Nottingham Law School, said: “This is particularly unfortunate for Boohoo, as ‘country of origin’ labels are not generally legally required on clothing within UK law in the first place (unless something about the specific clothing would make the absence misleading; a British flag on a shirt made in Hong Kong for instance).

“However, the status changes where the ‘country of origin” is misleading, potentially violating the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

“Moreso, deceiving the consumer on the geographical origin is an explicitly banned practice under consumer protection trading regulations.”

He added: “Boohoo is claiming that the incident was that of human error, yet it being an unwitting mistake isn’t enough for a due diligence defence in the event of prosecution.

“Rather, they would need show all reasonable precautions were taken.

“While unlikely to go as far as prosecution, it being human error is no ‘get out of jail free’ card in terms of consumer redress. If Boohoo wishes to mitigate the inevitable fallout, a product recall should be drafted as soon as possible.”

Earlier this week, Boohoo said it could close its controversial Leicester factory on Thurmaston Lane – just two years after it opened the flagship facility.

Boohoo introduced the new factory in 2022.

The company said it had entered into a consultation with “less than 100” staff at the factory.

The firm said it planned to keep its quality assurance and ethical compliance staff, currently based at the Thurmaston Lane site, elsewhere in Leicester.

Trade union, Usdaw, called on Boohoo to engage with it to help repair its damaged reputation, and ensure good working conditions for its staff.

Mike Aylward, Usdaw regional secretary, said: “For some years we have been seeking a dialogue with Boohoo to enable us to represent our members’ concerns. We have been met with a wall of silence and staff have been told in no uncertain terms not to engage with the union.

“Concerns about working conditions are not isolated to the supply chain and Boohoo’s directly employed staff feel like they have no way of raising issues with managers or finding resolutions to problems. That is why they need an independent trade union, to give them a voice at work.

“We have yet again asked Boohoo to take the simple step of sitting down with Usdaw to explore how we can work together. Staff, the local community, councillors, MPs and campaign organisations all want this to happen, to help make Boohoo an ethical trader.

“The company could go a long way towards repairing their damaged reputation by meeting with Usdaw and engaging in a positive relationship. Regrettably we have still received no response; for the sake of their employees we hope that will change.”