Prada’s parent company, Prada Group, has terminated relationships with more than 200 suppliers over the past five years after identifying labour compliance violations within its supply chain.
According to the group, more than 850 on-site audits have been conducted across its Italian manufacturing base since 2020, covering suppliers and subcontractors. As a result of these inspections, contracts with 222 suppliers that failed to meet labour law and internal compliance standards were terminated.
Prada Group currently continues to work with approximately 1,000 suppliers and subcontractors, primarily located in northern and central Italy.
Corrective measures focused on small workshops
The suppliers affected by the contract terminations were primarily small-scale workshops and subcontractors operating within Italy. Some of these entities had been flagged for issues related to working conditions and employee treatment, reigniting broader scrutiny over labour transparency within the luxury fashion industry.
Prada Group has reiterated its zero-tolerance approach to unlawful labour practices, positioning its strict audit framework not only as a matter of corporate responsibility, but also as a necessary measure to safeguard the credibility of the “Made in Italy” label.
Prada’s stance on supply chain disclosure
Commenting on supply chain transparency, Lorenzo Bertelli, marketing director and head of social responsibility at Prada Group, stated:
“Prada is not legally required to disclose every level of its production chain. We are willing to offer 100% transparency, but only if the same rules apply to all companies. Why should we give our competitors an advantage today by sharing information about our production chain?”
His remarks underline the group’s position: while acknowledging the importance of transparency, Prada maintains that disclosure must be implemented on a level playing field across the industry.
A broader challenge facing Italian luxury
These developments extend beyond Prada alone and reflect structural challenges increasingly surfacing across Italy’s luxury sector. Since 2023, several prominent brands—including Valentino SpA, Loro Piana, Christian Dior, and Giorgio Armani—have faced judicial scrutiny or corrective measures by Milanese authorities over labour conditions within their supply chains.
While the multilayered subcontracting system and reliance on small, non-public workshops have long supported the competitiveness of Italian luxury manufacturing, they have also created vulnerabilities where legal oversight can weaken at the production margins.
Against this backdrop, Prada’s decisive response represents one concrete approach to addressing systemic risk. More broadly, it raises a fundamental question for the industry: how the value of “Made in Italy” can be preserved—and credibly defended—in an era where ethical accountability is becoming inseparable from luxury itself.
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