World’s leading furniture and home textile retailer IKEA has now seriously begun investigating reports of allegedly buying from wood suppliers who use forced prison labour in Belarus.
Over the past several days, news reports in various markets have focused on the presence of IKEA in Belarus prior to 2022, including allegations of the use of forced prison labour connected to sub-suppliers.
In a statement, the company said, “We, at IKEA, take these reports seriously, and are concerned. We are investigating the claims. At this time, we have no evidence to substantiate the claims made in the news reports. We are clear across all markets where we are present that human rights abuses, such as forced and bonded labour, have no place in our business.
It further added that,“With our long-term approach, we seek to create sustainable change for the better wherever we are present. We take our responsibility seriously to ensure we have embedded processes to identify and minimise risks through robust due diligence processes, including verification by third-party auditors.”
The company said that in June 2021, it decided to stop all new business development due to the human rights challenges in Belarus and the unpredictable environment. “At the same time, we continued to investigate the next step to leave the market without risking the livelihoods of thousands of people we directly or indirectly employed in our supply chain. The war in Ukraine and the international sanctions accelerated these plans. In June 2022, IKEA decided to leave the market and terminate contracts with our suppliers,” the statement reads.
