Online retailer Missguided claims its inspectors were chased out of factory

Staff from one of Britain's leading online fashion retailers were physically attacked and chased out of a Leicester factory when they went to inspect it, a parliamentary committee has heard.

The claim was made by Paul Smith from Missguided, whose CEO Nitin Passi declined to give evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee hearing in Parliament.

The retailers have been called before parliament after the committee heard "shocking" evidence that the buying practices of some online retailers maybe forcing some manufacturers to pay garment workers illegally low wages.

The committee has also been looking at "fast" fashion's impact on the environment. An estimated 235 million items of clothing were sent to landfill in the UK last year.

When asked by committee chairwoman Mary Creagh MP what the factory, which provides garments to various retailers, could be hiding, Mr Smith said: "Underpayment of workers".

He told the committee that 30% of Missguided's production comes from Leicester, with 50% coming from China and the remaining products being made in Pakistan, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Vietnam.

Mr Passi declined to appear before the committee, sending a message that they were "people trying to create a story and you are the bait".

The committee heard evidence from executives from big-name retailers like Burberry, M&S, Asos (LSE: ASC.L - news) and popular online retailer Boohoo.

Boohoo chief executive Carol Kane was asked how they can make dresses in Leicester for as little as £4 and still pay the minimum wage to those making the garment?

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) replied: "We have 80 dresses across 6,700 styles that are £5. It's a tiny, tiny amount of our collection. There are 60,000 styles for sale. We don't make any money, it's a loss leader and it drives people to our website."

During the hearing, concerns were also raised about the low-quality of some "fast fashion" garments and the excessive waste that this business model is generating.