Kylie, Kendall deny claims their clothing company failed to pay Bangladesh factory

US reality stars Kendall and Kylie Jenner have denied claims that their clothing line failed to pay factory workers in Bangladesh amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

In June, Remake, a non-profit organisation dedicated to ethical fashion, claimed that the reality stars' clothing company Kendall + Kylie, owned by Global Brands Group (GBG), failed to pay the Bangladeshi garment workers for cancelled orders in February and March, reports Independent. 

In a letter from GBG's CEO Rick Darling, dated March 21, 2020, and obtained by Remake, he said: "Given the unpredictability of the situation, our retail partners have cancelled orders, and existing inventory and product in production may have no sell-through. Consequently, we have no choice but to make the difficult decision to cancel all S/S 2020 orders from all suppliers (without liability)."  

In Remake's article, it referenced GBG's website, which previously listed Kendall and Kylie's company as part of its portfolios of brands it had worked with, as the link between the two companies.

The accusations were also reposted on the Diet Prada Instagram account, prompting backlash against the sisters' company.

On July 2, the reality stars shared a statement on the Kendall + Kylie Instagram account, where they said the claims are "untrue" and that their company is not owned by GBG. 

"We would like to address the unfortunate and incorrect rumour that Global Brands Group owns the Kendall + Kylie brand and that we have neglected to pay factory workers in Bangladesh as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic," the statement reads.

This is untrue. "The Kendall + Kylie brand is owned by 3072541 Canada Inc, not GBG."

In the statement, the company explained it had worked with CAA-GBG in the past in a "sales and business development capacity only," but that the clothing company does "not currently have any relationship at all with GBG."

Continuing, the Kendall + Kylie team said: "We know that these are trying times for the fashion industry and garment workers as a whole, and we continue to support all of our partners working in the factories who produce our products."

"We manufacture in countries all over the world and have not received any concerns from the factories who produce our goods," the company concluded.