A new Dutch investigation into corporate ‘social washing’—where brands use audits to project an ethical image that may not reflect factory conditions—resonates deeply with lingerie’s complex history. For decades, the intimate apparel industry has grappled with the distance between its polished public image and the often-unseen labor behind its creations. The report by SOMO, Consumentenbond, and the Clean Clothes Campaign argues that reliance on commercial audits, which are often announced in advance and paid for by the brands themselves, creates a system prone to missing severe violations, from wage theft to forced labor.
This is not a new tension. Since the rise of globalized production, brands like Victoria’s Secret, founded in 1977, built empires on fantasy while facing persistent scrutiny over the realities of their supply chains. The 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, which killed over 1,100 garment workers, was a horrific testament to audit failures; inspectors had missed critical structural flaws in a building housing factories for numerous Western brands.
The report cites contemporary examples, including WE Fashion, which claimed 100% factory compliance while a supplier was linked to forced labor. Similarly, Nike, a major player in sports lingerie and apparel, has seen its audit-based assurances contradicted by findings of wage theft and abuse in its Asian supply networks. These cases echo past scandals where certifications promised more than they delivered, leaving workers vulnerable and consumers misled.
As the Netherlands’ consumer authority considers action, the lingerie industry’s legacy suggests that moving beyond voluntary audits toward enforceable accountability is not merely a modern compliance issue, but a necessary step in reconciling a century of glamour with the imperative for tangible, worker-centered justice.
Originally reported by WWD