After commissioning auditors Ernst & Young to investigate allegations its suppliers used East German forced prison labor to manufacture goods 25 to 30 years ago, Ikea released a Nov. 16 statement expressing its regret.

“We deeply regret this could happen,” said Ikea manager Jeanette Skjelmose. “The use of political prisoners for manufacturing was at no point accepted by IKEA.”

According to an independent report released by the Swiss furniture giant, the company not only used East German prisoners, many political dissidents, to manufacture goods in the 1980s, but Ikea managers were aware of the possibility and took some measure to prevent the occurrence, but they were ineffective.

“At the time we didn’t have the well-developed control system that we have today and we clearly did too little to prevent such production methods,” Skjelmose added.

Ikea commissioned the investigation after a Swedish television documentary which aired in June raised the allegations. The company was originally charged with using forced labor in 1982 by a human rights group, however. Rainer Wagner, chairman of UOKG, a victims’ group, told the Associated Press Ikea was one of many companies that benefited from forced prison labor in East Germany from the 1960s until the 1980s.

“Ikea is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said, adding he hopes Ikea and other companies involved will consider compensating former prisoners who often still carry the psychological and physical scars from their forced labor.

“Ikea has taken the lead on this, for which we are grateful,” he told reporters at a Berlin press conference.

[Image via JuliusKielaitis/Shutterstock]