1. Can you confirm whether the facility linked to the allegation is within your supply chain?

• Apparel 21 is not currently part of River Island’s supply chain.
• The facility was approved for use by Dong Yi, one of River Island’s suppliers in July 2024.
• Apparel 21 fulfilled 13 River Island purchase orders for the period of less than a month between 10 October and 6 November 2024. All payments due from River Island in respect of those orders were made in full and in accordance with the agreed payment terms with Dong Yi.
• Dong Yi informed River Island in October 2024 that Apparel 21 was no longer going to be used for River Island production.
• Dong Yi was made inactive on River Island’s system in November 2024 and Apparel 21 was subsequently removed from River Island’s list of approved manufacturing facilities in June 2025.
• Dong Yi then was set up under a different vendor code after 2024 and River Island continued to work with the vendor until the Autumn/Winter 2025 clothing collection.
• The reported closure of Apparel 21 occurred in July 2026, approximately 20 months after the final River Island orders were fulfilled.
• The Open Supply Hub listing therefore is out of date and will be corrected as part of the next published supplier-list update.

2. How are you ensuring that your purchasing practices in relation to the closure of Apparel 21 meet the standard required to protect workers’ rights and livelihoods?

• River Island recognises the potential impact purchasing decisions can have on suppliers and workers and we take those into consideration alongside our commercial requirements.
• Our approach includes giving suppliers as much reasonable notice as possible on material changes, honouring agreed commercial and payment commitments, considering supplier capacity and ethical performance, and assessing worker impact when significant changes to sourcing relationships are contemplated.
• In this case, River Island’s commercial relationship with Dong Yi ended in November 2024, approximately 20 months before the reported closure of Apparel 21 in July 2026.
• Apparel 21 fulfilled 13 River Island purchase orders for the period of less than a month between 10 October and 6 November 2024. All payments due from River Island in respect of those orders were made in full and in accordance with the agreed payment terms with Dong Yi.

3. What has River Island done to investigate the allegation and ensure remedy for workers?

• We have investigated orders and payments involving our relationship with Dong Yi and Apparel 21.
• We have not identified any evidence that our purchasing practices contributed to the closure of Apparel 21 in 2026, approximately 20 months after the final River Island orders were fulfilled.
• Apparel 21 had previously been subject to an ethical audit in 2023. As Dong Yi moved River Island production away from the facility shortly after onboarding, no subsequent audit was commissioned by River Island.