Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Is Luxury Finally Set for a Sustainability Reckoning?

Amid growing disillusionment with luxury brands, a series of Italian investigations linking major players like Dior and Armani to sweatshop labour is putting new pressure on the sector’s most powerful asset: brand image.
An outside view of a factory supplying Dior shows a series of concrete buildings. A separate image shows a high-end Dior store.
An Italian investigation has linked companies like Dior to suppliers operating under sweatshop conditions, a world away from the refined and exclusive image the brand presents to the world. (The Business of Fashion and Shutterstock)

MILAN, Italy

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

Further Reading

Italian Sweatshop Probe Is a Wake Up Call for Luxury Brands

An investigation into labour exploitation in fashion’s Italian supply chains has already entangled Armani and LVMH, accusing the companies of failing to adequately oversee their suppliers. Incoming EU regulation means such lapses in oversight could soon come with penalties of up to five percent of global revenue.

Op-Ed | The Myth of Ethical Luxury

Beneath luxury’s glamorous surface lies a network of supply chains tangled with the same labour abuses as fast fashion. Brands can, and should, do better, argues Caterina Occhio.

About the author
Sarah Kent
Sarah Kent

Sarah Kent is Chief Sustainability Correspondent at The Business of Fashion. She is based in London and drives BoF's coverage of critical environmental and labour issues.

© 2026 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Sustainability
How fashion can do better for people and the planet.

Fashion Searches For a New Climate Solution

Coach-owner Tapestry’s new carbon-removal partnership and brands making fresh commitments to textile-to-textile recycling startups show an industry searching for ways to address its environmental impact.


view more
Latest News & Analysis
Unrivalled, world class journalism across fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

Who Won Fashion’s Red Carpet Season of Change

Sunday night’s Oscars concluded an awards season that fashion’s biggest labels used to show off their new creative game. BoF breaks down what we learned about brands’ celebrity strategies.


VIEW MORE
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON