Dior, Armani Under Investigation For “Made In Italy” Handbags Produced By Migrants

Italian prosecutors investigated the local supply chains of two major Italian fashion houses. Their investigation found that some designer handbags are manufactured by exploited foreign labor. This revelation, while shocking to some, comes as no surprise to readers who already understand the agenda of the Western elites: flood Europe and the US with illegal aliens to capitalize off cheap labor (also votes). 

The Wall Street Journal cited court documents showing LVMH subsidiary Dior paid a supplier about $57 to assemble luxury handbags that sell for $2,780 in brick-and-mortar retail shops. Meanwhile, Giorgio Armani bags were sold to local suppliers for around $100, then resold to Armani for $270, and ultimately placed on retail store shelves for $1945 or more.

WSJ noted, “The cost prices don’t include leather or other raw materials. The companies separately cover the costs of design, distribution, and marketing.” 

“Why does it cost so little to manufacture the product?” said Fabio Roia, president of Milan’s court system, adding, “The brands need to ask themselves this question.”

Prosecutors allege that some of the luxury handbags made by the fashion houses’ suppliers with the “Made in Italy” stamp are actually made in sweatshops within the European country, employing low-cost Chinese labor. They say many of the sweatshops fall extremely short of legal workshop codes.

As a result of the Italian investigation, judges in June placed Manufactures Dior SRL—a unit of Dior—under so-called court administration after ruling that its supply chain included Chinese-owned firms in Italy that mistreated migrant workers. The same measure was taken against Armani in April and Alviero Martini, known for its map-print bags and other items, in January. -WSJ

In a 34-page court order, the court wrote that Italian police in March and April found migrant workers in “hygiene and health conditions that are below the minimum required by an ethical approach” at Milan-area companies in Dior’s supply chain. 

Investigators interviewed workers from one of Armani’s subsidiaries, GA Operations, which hired a number of Chinese-owned subcontractors across Italy. These subcontractors paid migrant workers a few euros per hour.

A partially redacted photo from Italy’s Carabinieri police shows a workshop in northern Italy where Armani products were made. Source: WSJ

“The main problem is obviously people being mistreated: applying labor laws, so health and safety, hours, pay,” Roia told Reuters earlier this year.

A partially redacted photo from Italy’s Carabinieri police shows a bedroom at a workshop near Milan that supplied Armani. Source: WSJ

Customers who expect the highest quality from the “Made in Italy” label are just now discovering that some of these luxury products are tainted with exploited migrant labor. The grim reality of open borders is revealed: it’s about diluting domestic workers for cheap migrants. For this, we can thank the Western elites.