Zara’s parent company, Inditex, could be fined up to US $25 million by the Brazilian Government, which claims that the company has failed to deal with employment abuses in its supply chain. Inditex inked a deal the Brazilian Labour Ministry back in 2011 to improve the conditions for workers, but the Ministry found evidence that 7,000 workers had been poorly treated since 2012. Problems identified at 67 factories covered by the Labour Ministry include 84 accidents or cases of illness at work, 22 cases of excessive work – where people were working longer than 16 hours a day or not having a single day off in a week.

“Under Inditex’s 2011 agreement with the Labour Inspection Department in Brazil the authorities are obliged to communicate issues, and provide Inditex with 10 days to resolve them. Inditex has been solving any issues as soon as it finds them,” the company said.