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3 December, 2025On 20 November 2025, a Paris criminal court heard arguments in a landmark case alleging that cosmetics group Yves Rocher failed to protect workers’ rights at its former Turkish subsidiary, Kosan Kozmetic. The complaint was brought by IndustriALL Global and industriAll Europe affiliate Petrol İş, supported by the NGOs Sherpa and ActionAid France, and concerns the dismissal of 132 employees in 2018, following a union organising drive at the Flormar cosmetics factory in Gebze. Eighty-one of the dismissed workers are plaintiffs in the French proceedings.
Kosan Kozmetik, a subsidiary of the Yves Rocher group from 2012 to 2024, manufactured Flormar-brand beauty products for global markets. Workers there faced very low wages, exposure to harmful chemicals, imposed overtime, management intimidation and systemic gender discrimination. In early 2018, Petrol-İş launched a membership campaign within the factory.
Union representatives, dismissed workers and lawyers presented testimony in court, arguing that Yves Rocher failed to meet its obligations under the French Duty of Vigilance Law law to ensure respect for fundamental labour rights throughout its supply chain. Former employees, Petrol-İş, Sherpa and ActionAid France are asking the court to recognise that the Yves Rocher Group failed in its duty of vigilance and to award compensation for the harm suffered.
A ruling is expected on 12 March 2026. The case is widely considered a test of whether parent companies can be held accountable for violations in their global operations. It is the first time foreign employees of a French-affiliated company have sought damages from the parent company under this law.
What’s at stake:
- The case challenges whether Yves Rocher fulfilled its due-diligence duty, especially with respect to workers’ freedom to organise and bargain collectively.
- If the court rules in favour of Petrol İş it could reinforce the reach of vigilance-type legislation in holding parent companies accountable for abuses at subsidiaries abroad.
- For workers and trade unions this victory would mark an important step towards strengthening labour rights in transnational supply chains, and signal that corporate reputation or brand name does not shield companies from scrutiny.
IndustriAll Europe and IndustriALL global union call on Yves Rocher, and on all multinational companies to adopt robust, enforceable due-diligence policies that protect fundamental labour rights throughout their global supply chains. We call on Yves Rocher Group to uphold the same fundamental rights for its employees everywhere.
Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe’s general secretary says:
“This case shows why Europe must uphold strong and enforceable due-diligence rules. Workers should never be dismissed or intimidated for exercising their fundamental rights, whether in France or Türkiye. European companies must respect the same standards across all operations. We stand in solidarity with Petrol İş and all workers fighting for their rights, including the right to organise.”
Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Global Union assistant general secretary, adds:
“The case of Flormar (Yves Rocher) is a clear case of violations of fundamental rights, and puts forward the need for holding capital accountable. It is an important test case if the French Due Diligence Law is instrumental in protecting workers, and we do expect that the judiciary process in France brings justice to the members of Petrol-Is, who want to exercise their guaranteed freedoms”.
Photo: Picket outside Flormar factory in Gebze, Türkiye on 9 August 2018.