The agreement was reached following a legal challenge, launched by the Consumer Agency Hamburg, which accused Lidl of engaging in false advertising.
The legal challenge was supported by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), who provided research which proved that Bangladesh workers were producing clothing for Lidl in conditions described by workers as “inhumane”.
On April 14th, the retailer, which had previously refused to withdraw the claims, proposed an out of court settlement. The settlement committed them to a cease and desist agreement on claims of global fair working conditions in its advertisements. As part of this, Lidl is no longer allowed to refer to their membership of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) in their advertising brochures.
The row broke out over a section of Lidl's company promotion, which claimed that “Lidl globally advocates fair working conditions. ….. we contract our non-food orders only to selected suppliers and producers that are willing to undertake and can demonstrate their social responsibility. We categorically oppose every form of child labor, as well as human and labor rights violations in our production facilities. We effectively ensure these standards.”
Yet garment workers at various Lidl supply factories in Bangladesh reported appalling working conditions, including excessive, underpaid or unclear pay of overtime, punitive payroll deductions, obstruction of trade union work and discrimination against female workers – all of which not only violates International Labour Standards set out by the International Labour Organisation, but also the BSCI code of conduct, and Lidl’s own commitments.
According to Khorshed Alam, one of the lead researchers in the investigation, “With this research we not only exposed Lidl's social greenwashing but also showed the ineffectiveness of BSCI membership. Yet many companies continue to hide behind membership of a business initiative as an alternative to taking concrete action to improve their corporate social behaviour.”
“This is a big victory for all consumers who care about how their clothes have been produced - but are being cheated by false advertising,” states CCC campaigner Sapi Ullrich. “We really hope that Lidl will not only stop advertising false claims but will also invest into actually improving working conditions throughout their supply chain.”
The organisations now hope that Lidl will take more proactive steps to improve working conditions, with Lidl seeking to enter into dialogue with its critics.
Notes:
* The CCC works to improve conditions and support the empowerment of workers in the global garment industry. It has national campaigns in 14 European countries with a network of 250 organisations worldwide.
* The full quote under dispute was found in Lidl brochures and stated
“We trade fairly! Every product has a story. To us it matters who is behind this story. Lidl globally advocates fair working conditions. Therefore, at Lidl, we contract our non-food orders only to selected suppliers and producers that are willing to undertake and can demonstrate their social responsibility. We categorically oppose every form of child labor, as well as human and labor rights violations in our production facilities. We effectively ensure these standards.”
* The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) is an industry controlled auditing initiative that has been criticised by the CCC in the past for failing to ensure its members meet the social standards they proclaim.
* The original complaint (in German) can be found at http://www.sauberekleidung.de/downloads/2010-04-08_Lidl_Klage.pdf
