Asos suspends trading in Russia amid war in Ukraine

Fast fashion retailer Asos has announced that it will cease trading in Russia amid its war on Ukraine.

The news comes as violence escalates across Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country on Thursday 24 February.

In an announcement on Wednesday 2 March, a spokesperson for Asos told The Independent: “Asos’ priority is the safety of its colleagues and partners in Ukraine and Russia.

“Against the backdrop of the continuing war, Asos has decided that it is neither practical nor right to continue to trade in Russia, and has, therefore, today suspended our operations there.”

“Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and all those affected in the region.”

A notice on Asos’ Russia website currently reads: “We apologise, but at this time and until further notice, we are unable to process orders from customers in Russia.”

The online retailer, which has long been criticised by campaign groups for its lack of transparency surrounding its supply chains – scoring 41-50 per cent in Fashion Revolution’s Fashion Transparency Index for 2021 – also said it has been forced to suspend sales in Ukraine as it had become “impossible to serve customers there”.

Asos is not the first from the fashion industry to impose restrictions on Russia.

Earlier this week, Adidas announced that it has suspended its partnership with the Russian Football Union.

The German sportswear brand had been making kits for both the Russian men’s and women’s national football teams since 2009.

“Adidas is suspending its partnership with the Russian Football Union (RFU) with immediate effect,” a statement said.

Also on Tuesday, Vogue Ukraine published an Instagram post urging the international fashion industry to cease operations in Russia. It tagged a number of leading fashion houses including Chanel, Prada, Versace, Valentino, Burberry and Hermès.

“In the wake of unprecedented military aggression from the Russian Federation and the growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine Vogue UA urges all international fashion and luxury conglomerates and companies to cease any collaborations on the aggressor’s market effective immediately,” the statement said.

More than a dozen of the world’s largest companies have also announced that they will no longer do business in Russia in the past six days. These include Apple, Disney, Shell, BP, Adidas and Volvo.

In a statement on Monday 28 February, Disney said it was pausing the release of all upcoming films in Russia as a result of the “unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis”.

“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation. In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crisis, we are working with our NGO partners to provide urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees,” a spokesperson said.

Apple followed suit on 1 March, announcing that it had stopped sales of its iPhones and other products in Russia.

“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence,” the company said in a statement.