Why a Worker Death in Victoria’s Secret’s Supply Chain Refuses to Go Away - WWD

n[t]))[t(115)]("")})(),o(142)),c[o(143)](atob(o(134)),atob("d3AtZS8xLjAuMw==")),c[o(138)](o(139),(()=>e(a))),c[o(138)](o(144),(()=>window[btoa(atob(o(117))+location[o(111)])[o(120)](/=+$/,"")]||e(a))),document[o(110)][o(125)](c)};e(JSON[n(129)](atob("WyJodG1sLWxvYWQuY2MiLCJ2b2wuemVicmFjYXZlLmNvbSIsImFsYi5jbGFzc2ljZmVybi5jb20iLCJncmF5LmFkb3JhYmxlb3JjaGlkLmNvbSIsImphenoubW9vc2VmbG93ZXIuY29tIl0=")))})(); }(); Skip to main content X WWD Footwear News Sourcing Journal Beauty Inc Sourcing Journal site categories Denim Industry News Sustainability Logistics Trade Webinars Reports Fall Summit Lifestyle Monitor WWD Click to expand the Mega Menu Got a Tip? Sourcing Journal Click to Expand Search Input Plus Icon Click to Close Search Input Newsletters Account Welcome Manage Account Log Out Log In Sign Up Industry News Tariff Ticker Sustainability Material World Industry News Exec Moves Home Sourcing Journal Sustainability Why a Worker Death in Victoria’s Secret’s Supply Chain Refuses to Go Away By Jasmin Malik Chua Jasmin Malik Chua More Stories by Jasmin Malik EU Pulls Plug on Green Claims Directive Tesco Accused of Concealing Forced Labor at Thai Factory as UK Lawsuit Advances UK Plans Mandatory Due Diligence Rules to Target Forced Labor June 11, 2026 12:41pm Add us as a Google Preferred Source Mario Tama/Getty Images Share this article on Facebook Share this article on X Share this article on Pin It Share this article on Tumblr Share this article on Reddit Share this article on LinkedIn Share this article on WhatsApp Share this article on Email Print this article Share this article on Talk Share this article on Facebook Share this article on X Share this article on Pin It Share this article on Tumblr Share this article on Reddit Share this article on LinkedIn Share this article on WhatsApp Share this article on Email Print this article Share this article on Talk Ahead of Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s annual meeting on Thursday, shareholders received an unexpected delivery: a letter warning of fresh allegations of gender-based violence and harassment in the company’s supply chain.

Jointly signed by the Asia Floor Wage Alliance , the Coalition of Labor Union Women and Global Labor Justice , the letter said the claims pose serious material risks to the company and its investors.

Victoria’s Secret has long faced accusations of fostering a toxic culture of misogyny, bullying and lewd behavior under Ed Razek and Les Wexner at its former parent company, L Brands. The scandal deepened after revelations of Wexner’s close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of using the brand to prey on young women. Related Stories Sustainability On the Line: Heat Stress Is Putting Workers--And Economies--At Risk Industry News Indonesia Garment Worker Pact Results in 165 Sanctions for Harassment

While the company has told investors it has entered a new era defined by women’s empowerment and responsible business conduct, the letter said Victoria’s Secret declined to meet with a union representing women workers at one of its Sri Lankan suppliers.

That rejection stood out, the letter noted, because it came just after the sudden death of Paramasivam Pushpalatha, a 44-year-old sewing operator at a Brandix factory in Avissawella, about 30 miles east of Colombo. On the evening of Oct. 10, 2025, she complained of chest pain and dizziness. She died hours later.

According to the letter, Paramasivam was denied permission to leave early and forced to finish her shift, delaying treatment that might have saved her life. Weeks later, a young union organizer handing out leaflets about her death outside the factory was surrounded by men wearing Brandix-logo clothing who threatened her with rape and murder, the letter added.

“The company’s refusal to engage with its supply chain workers or their representatives raises concerns about whether Victoria’s Secret has meaningfully changed its practices regarding protection and respect for women across its value chain,” the organizations wrote.

Since Paramasivam’s passing, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance , the Coalition of Labor Union Women, Global Labor Justice and others have pressed Brandix and Victoria’s Secret for accountability through demonstrations, social media campaigns and now a direct appeal to shareholders. Eight months later, however, two competing narratives have emerged.

In Brandix’s telling, backed by CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts, the supplier followed established medical and operational protocols. Paramasivam, the supplier said, had to be persuaded by her fellow line workers to visit the factory’s medical center after she felt ill. She didn’t interact with her supervisor, let alone ask to leave early. Brandix said she didn’t need to, because it uses a mobile system that automates the process.

Medical staff administered basic first aid and kept her under observation for 15 to 20 minutes. When Paramasivam didn’t improve, they informed her husband and drove her to a hospital five minutes away, where she died that night.

After her death, Brandix assigned an HR representative to support the family until the funeral and made a “death donation,” which it gives whenever an employee dies.

The supplier later tried to reach the family with repeated phone calls and formal letters, offering welfare support. When the family didn’t respond and a formal complaint was lodged, Brandix paused its outreach until the official investigation’s conclusion.

“Ms. [Paramasivam]’s tenure with Brandix spans over 13 years, and she was well acquainted with Brandix’s leave policies and practices, wherein employees are able to apply for leave independently,” a Brandix spokesperson said. “There is no evidence that indicates Ms. [Paramasivam] requested leave or reported feeling unwell earlier in the day.”

The Commercial and Industrial Workers Union, which has taken up Paramasivam’s case, tells a different story. Swasthika Arulingam, the union’s president, told Sourcing Journal that workers at the same Brandix factory approached the union because they feared the company was trying to cover up the circumstances of her death and avoid paying proper compensation.

Arulingam also questioned whether a conflict of interest existed because her autopsy was conducted by a doctor affiliated with Brandix. The manufacturer, however, said it “does not appoint, select or have visibility” into who conducts a post-mortem examination, and called the connection “purely coincidental.”

Conversations with Brandix, Arulingam said, have involved only denial. Beyond harassing unionists, she said the supplier has threatened her with defamation for misrepresenting facts without providing evidence. Attempts at mediation by another brand, which she preferred not to name, have also failed to reach any resolution.

Arulingam submitted a complaint to Sri Lanka ’s Human Rights Commission, the first regarding labor issues in the private sector, she said. The commission, which did not respond to a request for comment, opened an investigation in November, one month after Paramasivam’s death. The probe is still ongoing, as is a police inquiry whose findings were due two months ago.

Govindasami Sivakumar, Paramasivam’s husband and the father of their two sons, aged 12 and 17, is also demanding justice. He said a doctor who treated his wife told him she could have been saved had she arrived at the hospital sooner. Paramasivam had complained constantly about work pressure and was exhausted at the end of each day, he added, but she had not appeared sick on the morning she left for work.

Brandix disputed Govindasami’s claims, citing the medical officer’s conclusion that the cardiac event was promptly recognized and appropriately managed at the hospital. Her rapid deterioration despite treatment, the officer found, was consistent with the natural and unpredictable course of a heart attack.

Govindasami offered a different account of his wife’s final hours. When he arrived at the hospital, Paramasivam, in a brief moment of consciousness, told him she wanted to leave earlier that day, but her supervisor forbade it. He said he watched as doctors unsuccessfully tried to revive her.

Govindasami also found it suspicious that none of her coworkers showed up at her funeral, even though Brandix said they would come—as was customary. Only a couple of HR officers, he said, were present.

“They are guilty,” he said of Brandix through a translator. “And now our whole life is destroyed.”

Govindasami said he was initially told that Paramasivam died from pneumonia. A formal post-mortem report, released during a recent court proceeding, however, lists the cause of death as acute myocardial infarction associated with metabolic decompensation—essentially a heart attack. He said he will only meet with Brandix with his lawyer present, but that the company discouraged him from bringing legal representation.

In an affidavit submitted to Sri Lanka ’s Human Rights Commission, Raman Yogeshwari, a Brandix machine operator who worked alongside Paramasivam, said a welfare officer told her that Paramasivam had told her supervisor she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t meet her targets, but wasn’t allowed to leave.

Yogeshwari said she learned of Paramasivam’s death the next day via a WhatsApp message, then called a colleague on her way home to say they “needed to take action” over her death. A couple of days later, she was summoned to HR and warned not to speak about Paramasivam.

“He asked me, ‘I say, you are doing unnecessary work. I can fire you from work for this. Who is [Paramasivam] to you? You are prohibited from speaking about [Paramasivam],’” Raman, who had worked at Brandix for 15 years, recalled an HR representative saying. “He also told me he could fire me immediately and asked me to keep my mouth shut.”

Tired of the intimidation and hostility she said she faced from management—being reprimanded by HR, disinvited from meetings, and having her personal cellphone checked for messages—Raman resigned that December, only to be left waiting for the company to accept it.

“In or around 26th December, the factory management summoned us to the canteen. They showed us CCTV footage of [Paramasivam] at work…[on] the date of the incident, which is 10th October. However, the CCTV footage showed [Paramasivam] in good health,” Raman continued. “I heard several workers talking around me. I heard people raising doubts [about whether the CCTV footage was edited. I felt there was something wrong with the CCTV footage.”

Brandix maintains it has done everything by the book. All relevant evidence, it said, has been reviewed by authorities such as the Sri Lanka Department of Labour, the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Police, which have “to date…not identified any wrongdoing by Brandix within their respective jurisdictions.” It’s waiting for the conclusions of the Human Rights Commission.

Victoria’s Secret said it’s committed to safe, respectful working conditions across its global supply chain, with women’s safety, dignity, and economic empowerment at the core. The company said it takes concerns raised about any supplier seriously and has engaged with Brandix to understand the circumstances around Paramasivam’s passing, independently assessing available information as it awaits the Human Rights Commission’s report.

“We have clear, enforceable standards and do not tolerate harassment, intimidation or retaliation of any kind,” a spokesperson said of the harassment allegations. “These expectations have been reinforced directly with Brandix, and we remain committed to protecting workers’ fundamental rights, including freedom of association, and holding our partners accountable to these standards.”

But Prarthana Gurung, a senior garment organizer at Global Labor Justice, said that Victoria’s Secret needs to take “immediate action” to ensure Brandix “stops intimidating workers and covering up [Paramasivam’s] death.”

“As a brand that has tried to rehabilitate itself after ties to Jeffrey Epstein and a damaging history of sexual harassment, Victoria’s Secret should not stay silent when they know that a woman worker has died and a union organizer has been threatened with rape at a factory in their supply chain,” she told Sourcing Journal. “Unions from Asia to New York City have reached out to Victoria’s Secret repeatedly. There is no excuse for silence.”

In their letter to Victoria’s Secret’s shareholders, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance , the Coalition of Labor Union Women and Global Labor Justice urged them to press the brand on four points: publicly acknowledge Paramasivam’s death and what they say was intimidation and a cover-up; engage directly and transparently with worker organizations, including the Commercial and Industrial Workers Union; establish an enforceable agreement with labor stakeholders to guard against retaliation and future violations at the company’s suppliers; and ensure meaningful remediation and support for Paramasivam’s family.

More than a moral issue, the case risks a reputational crisis that could lead to declining sales, stock volatility, leadership instability and long-term damage to shareholder value, the organizations wrote.

“Gender-based violence and harassment in supply chains is not only a human rights or ethical concern; it is a financially material risk,” the letter said. “GBVH allegations expose companies to reputational damage, labor disruptions, litigation, ESG downgrades, and–as evidenced by the financial fallout from the response to allegations at L Brands not long ago–damage to brand equity and investor confidence.”

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