Dutch campaign group Schone Kleren Campagne is starting a legal case against clothing brand Levi Strauss (Levi’s), saying the company makes misleading sustainability claims and has failed to tackle serious labour law abuses at a factory it uses in Turkey.

More than 400 workers at the Turkish factory lost their jobs after striking for better working conditions and joining a union in the wake of the 2023 earthquake. SKC claims the workers were confronted with police violence and intimidation and that Levi’s failed to take action even though it was aware of the problems.

Levi’s is the factory’s only customer and, the SKC says, has a duty to prevent and tackle abuses under UN and OECD guiding principles. Although Levi’s acknowledged there were problems and that conditions at the factory conflicted with its own codes of conduct, no measures were taken, the SKC said.

The court case, brought by the campaign group and four Dutch consumers, is based on Dutch consumer law. “Consumers should not be misled by fine words on labels and websites while the workers are paying the price in the factories where the clothing is made,” spokeswoman Emma Vogt said.

Levi’s jeans in the Netherlands state that they are “responsibly made” and “worker rights and well-being” are listed on the company website as one of its four core values.

Dutch News has contacted Levi’s for comment. The company did not respond to earlier requests for comment from Trouw.

SKC has started a crowd-funding campaign to raise money to fight the case.