FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The public prosecutor’s department of Bobigny in Paris, France on July 8, 2013 decided to open an investigation on a complaint lodged against Samsung France on February 26, 2013 by three organizations: Peuples Solidaires, Sherpa, and Indecosa-CGT. Some primary evidence of the complaint is based in part on the China Labor Watch’s investigative report of eight factories producing for Samsung in China, published on September 4, 2012.
The complaint accuses Samsung France of advertising misleading commercial practices by promoting a code of conduct for the treatment of the workers who make Samsung’s products that Samsung does not necessarily enforce.
This is the first investigation of its kind in Europe. It is the first time that a public prosecutor has begun an inquiry on the gap between the ethical commitments of a company and its contradicting practices.
The goal of the complaint is to establish that the ethical commitments of a brand constitute an advertisement and, thus, can mislead consumers as to the social conditions under which the brand’s products are manufactured.
More information on the complaint can be found on the website (French) of Peuples Solidaires.