Controversies
Alleged antisemitic imagery
In 2007, Zara withdrew a handbag from its shelves after a customer noticed a swastika on the bag's design. The bag came from an external supplier, and Zara claimed the symbol was not visible when the handbag was chosen. Zara withdrew the product from stores, and spokesperson Susan Suett said the bag would not have been sourced had the symbol been apparent.
In August 2014, Zara received criticism for selling a toddler T-shirt for closely resembling uniforms worn by Jewish concentration camp inmates. The T-shirt was striped and featured a yellow star similar to the Star of David. Zara said, the design was inspired by "sheriff's stars from the classic western films". Zara removed the shirt from sale a few hours, after they appeared for sale, and apologized. Zara received criticism for selling the T-shirt in Israel because the country does not have sheriffs. Additionally, the word "Sheriff" is outlined in transparent letters on the bright yellow star. The Anti-Defamation League responded to the shirt, saying that it was offensive, but welcomed Zara's recognition of the potential imagery and removing the shirt from sale.
Labour practices
In August 2011, a Brazilian television show accused the company of using sweatshops for their outsourced production. The Regional Superintendency of Labour and Employment of São Paulo, Brazil, closed a factory that produced Zara's clothing for its poor labour conditions. Zara's representatives said the accusations of slave labour made against the retailer represent a breach of the code of conduct for workshops of Inditex. The company also states factories responsible for unauthorized outsourcing have been asked to regularize immediately the situation of the workers involved.
In September 2013, Bangladeshi garment workers for suppliers to Zara and its parent company, Inditex, protested following the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse, demanding a monthly US$100 minimum wage. Inditex does not publicly disclose the factories that produce their branded clothing.
In 2016, BBC News stated they found evidence of child labor and exploitation in factories in Turkey. Zara replied that there were some issues in June 2016 in one single factory and, instead of solving these issues immediately, they had given a period of six months to solve them.
In November 2017, customers shopping at Zara stores in Istanbul, Turkey, found handwritten notes purportedly from Turkish workers in the pockets of in-store garments asking shoppers to pressure Zara into paying them unpaid wages. The company clarified the unpaid wages were due to a third-party manufacturer Bravo Tekstil, who had failed to pay their employees in the period up to its closing after going bankrupt. The company said they would help to provide compensation to employees who weren't paid. In the agreement, only factory-floor employees were compensated, with "white-collar" employees not covered by the agreement.
Read the full text
In March 2019, Zara was found liable for "violating the fundamental rights of two sales assistants" at its stores in Almería, Spain. In October 2018, Zara decided to close its stores located in the Mediterráneo Shopping Center. All employees were reassigned, with the exception of 16 female workers who had reduced working hours to care for minor children; the company had proposed changes to their working conditions. Two of these workers turned to the CSIF union, believing the company was discriminating against them on the basis of gender. The company was ordered to reassign the employees under the same working conditions and to pay each of them €6,250 in compensation.
In 2022, about 1,000 shop assistants who work at Zara and other fashion brands owned by Inditex went on strike on Black Friday in the company's home town in northern Spain to demand better salaries. Before the second strike, Inditex, Zara's parent company, has agreed to pay 322 euros more per month to shop assistants from 44 stores. Workers also got a one-off bonus of 1,000 euros paid in February 2023.
In December 2023, Yle reported in Finland that the local Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Regional State Administrative Agency had investigated the four Zara stores under suspicions of illegal labour practices. In the investigation it was found that the workload the employees were subjected to were illegal. In one store, 95% of respondents to the authorities' enquiry felt that the workload is unbearable.
In May 2024, Zara agreed to a $1.25 million settlement to resolve allegations that it failed to include commissions in overtime pay calculations for approximately 500 employees, with 479 of them having joined the collective action. Zara was aware of this violation by mid-2018 but continued the improper pay practices until at least mid-2019.
Copyright infringement
In July 2016, complaints were made against Zara that they had been stealing designs from multiple independent designers for their products. One of the designers, Tuesday Bassen, who previously worked with brands including Urban Outfitters and Nike, contacted Zara. The company responded, saying Bassen's designs were not distinctive enough, and they received only a handful of complaints given the large volume of traffic they receive on their site. When the news was picked up by media outlets, Inditex, Zara's owning company, stated that the items in question have been suspended from sale, and that they were in contact with Bassen's lawyer to clarify and address the issue.
As of April 2018, MaXhosa by Laduma is taking legal action against Zara for copying its designs. Zara responded to complaints from the designer by removing socks that resembled his artistic style.
Melania Trump
In June 2018, a Zara jacket with "I really don't care, do u?" emblazoned on the back became controversial after it was worn by Melania Trump when she visited a detention center for migrant children separated from their parents.
Political controversy in China
In January 2018, Shanghai's internet authority summoned representatives of Zara, chastising the company for listing Taiwan as a country and ordering it to rectify the situation immediately.
In September 2019, Zara supported Hong Kong strikes; however after pressures from Chinese social media Zara was forced to issue a statement expressing its support of the "one country, two systems" policy adopted by China in ruling Hong Kong, and its disapproval of anti-government strikes.
Animal cruelty
In 2018, Zara's parent company Inditex committed to ban mohair from their products by 2020, responding to pressure from animal welfare groups regarding inhumane treatment of goats used for sourcing mohair.
Xinjiang region
In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including Zara, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.
Anti-Palestinian bullying and imagery
In June 2021, the company's women's head fashion designer Vanessa Perilman made anti-Palestinian comments in response to Palestinian model Qaher Harhash. After receiving backlash for her comments when they were made public by Qaher, Perilman apologized and Zara later asked Qaher to post Perilman's apology on his social media. Because of Zara's delayed response, and their decision to not fire Perilman, calls to boycott Zara emerged through social media.
In December 2023, Zara faced backlash over the release of their "ZARA ATELIER. Collection 04_The Jacket." campaign. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 50 complaints about the advert, which included photos of a model posing with a mannequin wrapped in plastic, and others where the model was surrounded by rubble and rocks with a cardboard cut out of what appeared similar to the map of Palestine. Commenters likened the similarity of the promotional photos to the images of the aftermath of air strikes in Palestine and called for a boycott of the brand. The campaign was subsequently removed from their app and website, and some images removed from their Instagram account. On December 12, Zara announced that it "regrets" a "misunderstanding" about the ad campaign and that it was photographed in September.
Trademark action
In April 2022, it was reported that Zara had taken legal action against "Tara Sartoria", a small clothing company owned by Vietnamese citizen Tara Nguyen. Nguyen's company sells products made by disadvantaged women in Indonesia and Vietnam.
