Investigators discover dark truth behind major fashion brand's operations — here's what was revealed

A court ruling in Milan revealed the dark side behind the production process of Valentino-branded handbags made in Italy, with the dispute highlighting the exploitative nature of some fashion industry contracts that prioritize profits over human rights. 

What's happening?

As The Fashion Law reported, Valentino Bags Lab S.R.L. (or Valentino Bags Lab) — the manufacturer of Valentino-branded handbags — was placed under a one-year judicial administration after a Milan court found the company guilty of subcontracting its luxury bag production to workshops that engaged in exploitative labor.

Carabinieri police searched seven Chinese-operated workshops in Milan, Italy, between March and December 2024. They discovered alarming working conditions in violation of Italian labor laws.

Of 67 workers, nine worked off-the-books, while three were undocumented immigrants. The search also revealed that these workshops removed safety devices from machinery to achieve maximum speed. Some workers had to sleep at the workshops to ensure round-the-clock production.

One workshop, Bags Milano Srl, whose sole client has been Valentino Bags Lab since 2018, reportedly produced about 4,000 luxury bags per month.

Made using cheap labor, each bag costs between €35 and €75 ($40 and $85) to produce and retails between €1,900 and €2,200 ($2,100 and $2,500) under the Valentino luxury brand label.

Ornella Auzino, a Naples-based handbag manufacturer, told The Fashion Law that the manufacturing system is "far too broken."

Why is mass manufacturing in fashion concerning?

Luxury brands tout higher levels of craftsmanship and higher quality materials used behind each product. This supposedly sets them apart from fast-fashion brands.

However, as this court ruling has revealed, some luxury brands produce their products just as haphazardly and irresponsibly.

Shein, a fast-fashion brand that now dominates the world of online shopping, was exposed for similar exploitative labor practices. Shein employees worked 14-hour days with only one day off per month.

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Globally, 100 billion pieces of garments are produced each year by the fast-fashion industry, accumulating 92 million tonnes (over 100 million tons) of fashion waste in landfills, according to Earth.org.

The mass production of fashion products allows brands to offer competitive prices to consumers. However, shoppers pay a higher cost in the long run.

Fast-fashion products deteriorate just as quickly as they were made, which requires consumers to replace their garments more frequently. Disposed garments end up in landfills, and clothing fibers can sometimes wash into waterways, polluting oceans. 

What can I do to help?

Disrupting the fast fashion industry doesn't happen overnight. However, you can adopt shopping habits that help secure a sustainable future in fashion.

Thrifting or shopping secondhand online at websites like ThredUp or Facebook Marketplace allows shoppers to save money on furniture and household items, as well as clothing, while extending the life of things that have already been produced.

Trashie, a fashion recycling company, provides a Take Back Bag that can be filled with old and unwanted clothes and other textiles. The company resells usable garments at a discounted price, while other textile waste is recycled to produce new fibers for uses like pet bedding.

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