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Judge Lifts Judicial Control on 2 Italian Fashion Firms in Worker Exploitation Case

A woman walks her dog at the CityLife Shopping District in Milan, on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP)
A woman walks her dog at the CityLife Shopping District in Milan, on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP)
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Judge Lifts Judicial Control on 2 Italian Fashion Firms in Worker Exploitation Case

A woman walks her dog at the CityLife Shopping District in Milan, on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP)
A woman walks her dog at the CityLife Shopping District in Milan, on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP)

An Italian judge has lifted the judicial control imposed by Milan prosecutors on two Italian fashion firms over alleged worker exploitation, court documents seen by Reuters showed, meaning a court-appointed administrator need no longer monitor the two firms' operations.

It is the first time a judge has not upheld such a measure in a series of similar cases involving the high-end fashion sector.

Milan prosecutors had placed the two firms under investigation on March 17, along with their two directors and three Chinese nationals ⁠who owned two ⁠workshops to which the brands had subcontracted production.

In a 25-page ruling seen on Monday, Judge Roberto Crepaldi said "the conditions do not exist" for placing Alberto Aspesi and Dama Spa, owner of the Paul & Shark brand, under judicial oversight.

He added it had not been proven that ⁠the two companies' directors were complicit in the crime of labor exploitation.

The judge said the exploitation and underpayment of migrant workers had been established, but he attributed responsibility to the two subcontracting workshops rather than to the two client companies. Milan prosecutors said they would file an appeal on Tuesday over the judge's decision, asking a court to confirm the judicial oversight measure.

A three-judge panel will then decide whether to uphold the lower court ⁠judge's ruling ⁠or reimpose judicial control.

Being placed under investigation does not imply guilt or mean the case will go to trial.

Aspesi and Dama have not commented on the case, while the lawyer for Dama's director said he ruled out any criminal liability for his client, Andrea Dini.

The March 17 move had brought to seven the number of high-end brands put under various forms of judicial administration because of suspected labor violations, while another 13 have been subject to inspections - cases that have tainted the sector's image.

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Fashion

Debenhams Lifts 2027 Profit Forecast as Turnaround Strategy Pays Off

FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past Debenhams on Oxford Street in central London, Britain, April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past Debenhams on Oxford Street in central London, Britain, April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
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Debenhams Lifts 2027 Profit Forecast as Turnaround Strategy Pays Off

FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past Debenhams on Oxford Street in central London, Britain, April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past Debenhams on Oxford Street in central London, Britain, April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

British fashion retailer Debenhams raised its 2027 profit forecast after exceeding expectations for 2026 on Monday, as its turnaround strategy focused on cutting costs and debt begins to take root, sending its shares up more than 6%.

The iconic brand made a comeback in March last year after Boohoo rebranded as Debenhams and ⁠embarked on a ⁠plan to address the hit to profit from supply-chain challenges, weak demand and increased competition from low-cost fast-fashion names.

"The transformation work done has been huge and the noise (and costs) associated with these is now all but over," said Wayne Brown, a Panmure Liberum analyst.

The company ⁠forecast annual adjusted core profit of 53 million pounds ($70.37 million) for the year ended February 28, ahead of its upgraded guidance, driven by a 76% jump in second-half profit.

"All the signals and green shoots of the new business model are now visible," Reuters quoted Brown as saying.

Debenhams expects its fiscal 2027 adjusted core profit to grow by a double-digit percentage from the higher 53-million-pound base.

The retailer, which owns brands including PrettyLittleThing and Karen Millen, said gross merchandise value ⁠declines slowed for ⁠three straight quarters, exiting February down 5% compared with last year.

The company said all its brands continue to trade profitably on an adjusted core profit basis.

Debenhams had raised about 40 million pounds in February through an oversubscribed share placement, surpassing its initial 35 million-pound target, as it looks to boost liquidity.

The company has also been locked in a long-drawn tussle with top shareholder Frasers Group FRAS.L, majority-owned by British retail tycoon Mike Ashley, which unsuccessfully attempted to block its rebrand and oust its co-founder.

Fashion

A Nonprofit in France Is Fighting Fast-Fashion Waste, One Sneaker at a Time

Mohamed Boukhatem, co-founder and director of SneakCoeurZ, a nonprofit organization giving used footwear a second life, poses in Champs-sur-Marne, east of Paris, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
Mohamed Boukhatem, co-founder and director of SneakCoeurZ, a nonprofit organization giving used footwear a second life, poses in Champs-sur-Marne, east of Paris, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
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A Nonprofit in France Is Fighting Fast-Fashion Waste, One Sneaker at a Time

Mohamed Boukhatem, co-founder and director of SneakCoeurZ, a nonprofit organization giving used footwear a second life, poses in Champs-sur-Marne, east of Paris, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
Mohamed Boukhatem, co-founder and director of SneakCoeurZ, a nonprofit organization giving used footwear a second life, poses in Champs-sur-Marne, east of Paris, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)

Hundreds of used sneakers arrive each week at a workshop east of Paris, where workers inspect them and ask a simple question: Can a shoe be saved?

The nonprofit SneakCœurZ is in the business of sorting the shoes to check which ones can be resold or redistributed, and which have to be rejected. It says it collected 30,000 pairs of used sneakers last year and resold 2,000 pairs, and wants to scale up that process.

“Today, there is no project of this scale in the sneaker sector,” said Mohamed Boukhatem, the organization's director general and co-founder. “We are the only ones able to industrialize both the processes and the collection of sneakers for reuse.”

The group's work underscores a growing waste problem in France, where the capital Paris is long one of the world’s fashion and luxury hubs.

The stakes are huge: the textile industry is among the world’s most polluting, and the fashion and textiles sector accounts for up to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations. The European Parliament has said textiles were the third-largest source of water degradation and land use in the European Union in 2020.

Refashion, the French government-approved eco-organization for clothing, household linen and footwear, says 259 million pairs of shoes were sold in France in 2024.

It says only about a third of used textiles and footwear are separately collected, with much of the rest left in cupboards or thrown away with household waste.

At its workshop in Champs-sur-Marne, workers for SneakCœurZ inspect the used shoes and check which can be salvaged.

“The structural elements of the shoe are what determine whether we can refurbish it or not,” workshop manager Paul Defawes Abadie said.

“A damaged Velcro strap isn’t a deal breaker. A lace isn’t a deal breaker. Dirt is never a deal breaker,” he said. “What really matters is the wear of the structural materials, especially the outsole.”

Pairs that make the cut are cleaned from the sole upward, disinfected inside and, in some cases, whitened under UV light before being put back into circulation.

The nonprofit says it redistributed more than 7,000 pairs to people in need and helped create 19 jobs.

“Over the next three years, the goal is to triple or even quadruple these volumes and move to an industrial scale,” Boukhatem said.

France has tried to respond to the issue of fast-fashion waste with law, as well as rhetoric.

Its 2020 anti-waste law requires unsold nonfood goods to be reused, donated or recycled instead of destroyed.

Authorities introduced a state-backed repair bonus for clothing and shoes in November 2023. Separately, lawmakers are still working on a bill aimed at reducing the textile industry’s environmental impact.

The bill passed the National Assembly in March 2024 and the Senate in June 2025, and the government said in February that it was still aiming for a joint parliamentary committee this spring.

Fashion

H&M's Q1 Profit Grows More Than Expected, Sees March Sales Up 1%

FILE PHOTO: A Swedish flag hangs outside a business on a street of the old city of Stockholm, Sweden, February 24, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Swedish flag hangs outside a business on a street of the old city of Stockholm, Sweden, February 24, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo
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H&M's Q1 Profit Grows More Than Expected, Sees March Sales Up 1%

FILE PHOTO: A Swedish flag hangs outside a business on a street of the old city of Stockholm, Sweden, February 24, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Swedish flag hangs outside a business on a street of the old city of Stockholm, Sweden, February 24, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo

Swedish fashion retailer H&M reported on Thursday a slightly bigger rise than expected in December-February operating profit, and predicted March sales would be up 1% in local currencies.

"Towards the end of the quarter our well-received spring collections contributed to a positive sales trend, which also continued into March," CEO Daniel Erver said in a statement.

Operating profit in H&M's fiscal first quarter, ⁠which includes the key ⁠Christmas shopping period, rose for a third consecutive quarter to 1.51 billion crowns ($162 million) from a year-earlier 1.20 billion and a mean forecast in an LSEG poll of analysts of 1.39 billion, on an organic sales decrease of 1%.

The rival ⁠to Inditex in January flagged that local-currency sales in the first two months of the quarter were down 2%.

According to Reuters, H&M said it is closely monitoring developments in the Middle East and the implications for global trade.

"With good flexibility in the supply chain and a low proportion of air freight, there are opportunities to adapt the flow of goods to changed conditions," it said. "Middle Eastern markets account for a ⁠small portion ⁠of the company’s total sales and the markets are operated through franchise partners."

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran. Iran has in response launched strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.

It has attacked vessels and infrastructure throughout the Gulf region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, hitting global supply chains and causing soaring energy costs, raising concern over war-driven inflation and potential impact on consumer demand.