Italian prosecutors investigate luxury group Tod’s for labor abuses, seek ad ban

ROME AP Italian prosecutors have placed luxury group Tod s and three of its executives under inquiry for suspected labor abuses and exploitation judicial documents demonstrated on Thursday According to the documents seen by The Associated Press Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari has also requested a six-month ban on the company s advertising with a hearing on the matter set for Dec In the documents prosecutors allege that Tod s known for its high-end loafers and bags was fully aware of and complicit in labor exploitation of Chinese workers at subcontracted workshops in Milan and the Marche region Tod s stated in a short comment on Thursday it was calmly reviewing the assertions In the documents Storari noted a sort of intentional blindness from Tod s which had also carried out third-party audits on the workshops but failed to address the problems they had revealed According to prosecutors the workers exploitative conditions included hours exceeding the legal limit inadequate wages violations of various workplace safety regulations and degrading housing The probe focusing on Tod s is the latest in a string of Italian police operations and investigations revealing the abusive restoration of subcontracted workers by high-end brands In April Italian police disclosed that Chinese workers employed by an unauthorized subcontractor produced handbags and accessories for Giorgio Armani Source