Three organisations have filed a judicial complaint against French supermarket chain Auchan after the Bangladesh garment factory collapse last year.
The retailer said it did not place any orders at the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka.
The lobby groups filed the complaint with a public prosecutor in France.
Sherpa, Peuples Solidaires and the Ethique sur l'étiquette group have accused Auchun of misleading consumers about "working conditions in the places where its products are manufactured".
They are claiming that an investigation found labels from the chain's "In Extenso" range in the area following the collapse.
The groups have called on a preliminary investigation being carried out as soon as possible.
They claim witnesses are available to provide evidence.
“We never sent orders to Rana Plaza and there was no direct, or indirect, link between Auchan and the businesses on the site,” said the retailer in a statement to AFP.
Auchan has launched a plan against undeclared sub-contracting.
The company has also signed an agreement with other companies to improve the safety of textile factory workers in Bangladesh.
The eight-storey building collapsed in the city last April after a structural failure.
There were 1,138 workers killed in the incident with more than 2,000 injured.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine
