Following the devastating earthquake in south-eastern Türkiye in February 2023, the region was severely affected, with 50,000 people losing their lives. In Şanlıurfa, home to the Özak factory which manufactures for Levi’s, working conditions deteriorated significantly because management failed to take into account the personal circumstances of workers in the wake of the earthquake.

Workers faced:

• extremely long working days

• insufficient leave

• poor working conditions and food

• no serious response to complaints regarding leave or pay rises

In November 2023, the conflict escalated. A large proportion of the workers joined an independent trade union, BİRTEK-SEN, out of dissatisfaction with the situation. One of them, a young female worker and activist with the BİRTEK-SEN trade union (Unified Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers Union), was dismissed.

This was followed by strikes involving hundreds of workers. During these strikes – which were peaceful on the workers’ part – they were bombarded with tear gas, beaten, sprayed with pepper spray and detained.

The factory’s response: mass redundancies. More than 400 workers lost their jobs — a move seen as retaliation for trade union activity and strikes.

Levi’s is the sole customer of this factory and therefore wields considerable influence. According to the UN Guiding Principles and OECD guidelines, Levi’s must address and remedy violations in the supply chain – particularly as the dominant customer.

The brand:

- acknowledged that there were serious problems

- stated that this was a breach of their own code of conduct (supplier code)

- promised to take action

But in practice, something else happened:

- no effective solution was found for the dismissed workers

- Levi’s continued to manufacture at the same factory and even placed more orders

- no structural improvements were enforced

By doing nothing despite having the power to act, Levi’s bears responsibility for perpetuating the situation.

The Clean Clothes Campaign is launching a legal case in the Netherlands alongside four consumers (plaintiffs) on the basis of consumer law.

Levi’s sells jeans with the message that the company:

- produces responsibly

- respects labour rights

- and prevents abuses in the supply chain

However, consumers must not be misled by such claims. Under European rules and the Authority for Consumers and Markets’ Guidelines on Sustainability Claims, companies must not create an impression that is more sustainable or fairer than is actually the case.

Our demands are therefore:

- acknowledgement that these statements were misleading

- a halt to similar claims in the future

- a public retraction

- and compensation for dismissed workers

Levi’s cannot simply brush this aside by merely changing its website. We believe that the only real remedy lies in providing redress to the workers and a sustainable improvement in working conditions in the factories that produce for Levi’s.

Previously, the brand claimed that workers throughout the supply chain were protected and that it went even further than simply safeguarding labour rights in the workplace. In the Netherlands, jeans were labelled as “responsibly made”.

Levi’s continues to emphasise its core values and states that it selects suppliers based on social and environmental standards. According to its own guidelines, the company also operates a “zero tolerance” policy: in the event of serious violations of labour rights, it intervenes immediately and terminates its partnership with factories.

You can join us in holding Levi’s accountable. Check out this page to find out how. Over the coming months, we’ll be organising public campaigns to keep the issue in the spotlight. Would you like to stay informed? Then sign up for our newsletter.