Woolworths Reveals All 351 Suppliers in Bid for Supply Chain Transparency, 63% Are Chinese

• Woolworths has released the list of their suppliers as part of efforts to promote supply chain transparency
• The list, which contains 351 suppliers, shows that 63% of suppliers are Chinese and only 13% are South African
• Woolworths' clothing is more likely to be manufactured in an African country than in India or Bangladesh, but this is not true for their Country Road and David Jones ranges

JOHANNESBURG - Woolworths has stepped up its efforts to provide customers with supply chain transparency. As part of this campaign, they have released the full list of who their suppliers are and where they are located.

The list revealed that only 13% of Woolworths' suppliers are South African, while 63% of them are Chinese. However, their clothing is mostly made in factories in African countries, rather than India, which is a popular location for other clothing stores.

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According to Business Insider, the only part of the Woolworths business whose suppliers remain unknown is their food suppliers.

Woolworths' mission of transparency

Woolworths has admitted that due to the seasonal nature of many of their products, they may take on new suppliers at times who are not on the general list. The list also doesn't say how many products they order from each supplier.

News24 reports that Woolworths' David Jones and Country Road ranges do not feature products sourced from African suppliers. However, the company is looking to recycling initiatives to ensure sustainability.

"By making this list of suppliers transparent, we are now empowering Woolies’ customers to make informed and better choices," Woolworths said.

Reactions to Woolworths' supplier list

@atopinions said:

"Yoh. People paying premium for Chinese-made items sold under Woolies brand."

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@Craiges2 shared:

"If you do not have a supply chain from China, you will not be able to trade competitively in any market."

Micki Perepeczko remarked:

"I guess this is why there is no quality control."

Joy McLaren believes:

"Our stores need to stock local brands. African clothing is awesome."

Gillian Dansie said:

"The quality at Woolies lately is terrible, never mind the awful styles and fabric."

Woolies recalls apple juice amid food safety concerns

Previously, Briefly News reported that Woolworths SA has had to recall an entire batch of apple juice cartons after it was confirmed that many of the products may not be safe for consumption.

Following routine quality tests, the company says it has detected severely high levels of a certain mycotoxin in the fruit juice boxes. According to the World Health Organization, extremely high levels of this toxin can cause vomiting, nausea and gastrointestinal disturbances.

Naturally, Mzansi was not at all impressed and headed to the comments section to react. While people were happy they might receive a refund, others wondered what the health consequences might be.

Source: Briefly News