REGATTA LTD. STATEMENT – Friday 1st December 2023

Regatta Ltd. refutes the implication that we use forced prison labour.

Regatta Ltd. took the incident reported to us by a customer very seriously and an immediate investigation commenced. As a business and members of the Ethical Trading Initiative, we have strict policies in place to ensure ethical working standards for all, and zero tolerance for forced or prison labour. Following a thorough investigation, we can state that this garment was made in a fully compliant factory and that numerous inspections of the factory, including a certified third-party visit to the site, found no breaches of any of our policies.

Our investigation has found credible evidence that points towards this being an isolated incident by an employee who had spent time in prison before his employment with the factory. Our investigation showed no indicators that prison labour were present in the factory at any time.

From the limited images shared by the customer it is perceived that the ID is dated 2022. Regatta Ltd. has payroll documentation to show the person pictured on the ID was an employee who received a wage. The individual had an employment contract with the factory and was not working under forced or prison conditions. The employee shown on the ID was employed by the factory from March 2023 – June 2023. The garment in question was produced during the individual’s employment and shipped from the factory in July 2023 (one month after the individual’s employment ceased).

We are continuing to investigate how the item came to be sewn into the garment.

Regatta Ltd. continues to work closely with suppliers to maintain high standards. If it is found that any policies have been breached by our supply chain at any time, we will take strong and swift action.

Regatta Ltd. has taken advice from the Ethical Trading Initiative in relation to this matter and ETI is supporting us in our ongoing commitment to ethical trading practices.

A statement from Peter McAllister, Executive Director, Ethical Trading Initiative:

“Regatta has been an active member of ETI since 2012 and fully understand their responsibilities with respect to workers in their supply chain. Regatta alerted us to the situation of alleged prison labour at one of the factories producing for them in China. They have undertaken the steps we would expect to investigate this allegation and gather evidence to determine what the situation is at the factory. We know that Regatta takes this allegation seriously and we will work with them to ensure the situation is clear and any needed action is taken.”