Inditex-owned Spanish fast fashion brand Zara is in some trouble with regard to store extension in a French city.
The fashion retailer has been denied permission to extend a French store following concerns over sustainability and alleged exploitation of China’s minority Muslim Uyghurs.
A spokeswoman for the town hall of Bordeaux in southwest France said that the commission which took the decision cited a French probe into whether Inditex and three other fashion retailers had used forced Uyghur labour in China’s Xinjiang region.
Reportedly, the commission also expressed concerns over the impact that fast fashion has had on environment.
The spokeswoman also said that three city and regional representatives sitting on the 10-member commission, tasked with reviewing the request, voted against it, while six abstained.
“We wanted to send a strong signal,” said Alain Garnier, one of the elected officials on the 10-member commission that voted on the issue.
Meanwhile, Inditex has said in a statement that Zara France would appeal against the move.
The Inditex Group is, reportedly, the biggest fast fashion group in the world, and runs more than 7,200 stores in 93 markets across the globe.
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