Online fashion retailer Boohoo has revealed it will create 5,000 jobs in the UK over the next five years.
The company enjoyed a rise in revenue during the pandemic as consumers moved to online shopping due to shop closures during lockdowns.
Workers’ rights
It has also recently purchased the Debenhams brand, as well as Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton from Philip Green’s failed Arcadia business.
Boohoo said it would invest £500 million in additional warehouse space and technology to support the boom in sales, which would create more jobs.
The business has come under fire in recent months after reports of poor working conditions in some of its suppliers’ factories.
An independent report compiled by Alison Levitt QC found that staff in its garment factories were sometimes paid below the minimum wage and faced risks of catching Covid-19 at work.
It has since committed to linking executive bonuses to environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets.
However, Mary Creagh, former Environmental Audit Committee chair, has accused the company of “greenwashing” with its 20% sustainability target and environmental policy claims.
“We’ve consistently seen them play cat and mouse with lawmakers and public opinion on the issue of sustainable working practices and sustainable consumption,” she said.
“Boohoo in particular has to reduce the volume of clothes it makes and accurately price their garments to reflect the environmental cost of fashion production.”
Boohoo is not the only retailer to announce a host of new jobs on the back of online retail success. This week John Lewis Partnership said it would create 500 new jobs at a major new distribution centre near Milton Keynes, despite the planned closure of many of its physical stores.
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The new Boohoo jobs will include roles at its warehouse in Burnley as well as posts at its Manchester headquarters.
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