MILAN — A Milan court gave Tod’s Group two additional months to strengthen control over its supply chain before deciding on a potential sanction.
On Wednesday, the court granted a request by the Italian luxury company to postpone a hearing that could potentially impose a six-month ban on its communication. Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the hearing was moved to Feb. 23 and is part of the process that started when prosecutors began investigating the company over suspected alleged labor abuses.
Tod’s issued a statement saying it was “satisfied” with the court’s decision, which it defined as “correct and reasonable” since it allows “the necessary time to complete the additional control-strengthening measures” that had been “initiated long ago.”
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Expressing confidence in the outcome of this work, Tod’s reiterated it was always its “intention to clarify matters and to make a meaningful contribution to addressing this serious issue, given that protecting and defending the dignity of workers is among our family’s most important values and one of the founding principles of the group.”
Chairman and chief executive officer Diego Della Valle has defended the company’s conduct and expressed criticism over the probe’s development and the narrative that goods Made in Italy lack ethical controls. He previously invited prosecutor Paolo Storari to visit the group’s plants and the invitation was reiterated in the statement “so that he can see for himself the reality of our operations, what we represent and the conditions in which our employees work, conditions considered among the best in the world in our sector. We can emphasize that many Italian companies stand as models of exemplary conduct.”
Tod’s and three managers are accused of ignoring the findings of local authorities at its subcontractors, which are said to be Chinese-owned.
Prosecutors claim the audit results raised concerns about working hours, pay and hygiene standards.
Storari has been investigating the company’s supply chain since last year, unearthing alleged labor abuses and poor working conditions at a handful of the company’s subcontractors in the Lombardy and Marche regions. The former were reportedly involved in the production of staff uniforms, while the latter were allegedly supplying footwear’s upper parts.
Looking ahead, “once this matter is resolved, we believe it will be important to engage in discussions in the appropriate forums in order to address a problem which, if not addressed appropriately and with a broad vision, risks halting an important part of Italian industry, something that should concern all of us, each in our respective roles,” the company’s statement said. “We conclude by saying that the values of Made in Italy and its global reputation constitute an enormous heritage, and we have a duty to protect and enhance it, not diminish it.”
Tod’s is not facing any criminal charges, but Milan prosecutors have requested it be put under judicial administration.
A longtime champion of Made in Italy production, Della Valle said last month that he and his family, including his brother and vice chairman Andrea of the group, “make ethical values a pivotal factor in any situation, all the more so in business matters.”
Della Valle said that current law requesting companies to track the third tier of the sub-supplying chain is hardly feasible.
Industry associations, including Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and Confindustria Moda, have been equally vocal about the need for a shared, nationwide auditing system.
In October, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana’s president Carlo Capasa; Luca Sburlati, president of Confindustria Moda, and Matteo Lunelli, president of Altagamma, among other association heads, met with the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso in Rome to discuss draft laws tackling both the influx of ultra-fast-fashion products and a system to safeguard the supply chain from unlawful practices.
