We strive to improve the social and environmental responsibility in our supply chain with clear principles, transparency, and cooperative follow-up mechanisms.
Human rights and social responsibility are our first priority. Our code of conduct has been signed by all our suppliers. It is based on the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights defining core principles like fair remuneration, decent working hours, no forced labor, or child labor We are a member of Amfori the leading global business association for open and sustainable trade. Under the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) Amfori facilitates independent audits of the social compliance of factories.
Freedom of association & right to collective bargaining Workers shall have the right to form unions in a free and democratic way and to bargain collectively |
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No discrimination No workers irrespective of gender, race, religion, or any othercharacteristic shall be treated differently than others |
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Fair remuneration Workers shall receive wages sufficient to provide a decent living for themselves and their families – Minimum mandatory minimum wages |
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Decent working hours Working hours shall adhere to laws and ILO agreements to a maximum of 48 hours per week. Overtime should be an exception |
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Occupational health and safety The work environment shall comply with health and safety regulations |
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No child labor No children shall be employed under the legal school age or less than 15 years old |
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Special protectionfor young workers Younger workers shall be protected, especially against health, safety, and morality |
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No precarious employment Workers shall have written contracts complying with national legislation |
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No bonded labor No worker shall work unfreely or against his/her own will |
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Protection of the environment Environmental degradation shall be avoided |
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Ethical business behavior No corruption shall take place |
The BSCI audit is evaluating our suppliers on their compliance with our principles as defined in our Code of Conduct: Are workers allowed to organize? Are they paid fairly? Do they have written contracts? Do they have an acceptable amount of overtime? 22 of our 25 suppliers have a recent and valid BSCI audit. They covered 96% of our volume. 19% had a b-rating. 91% had a c-rating. A c-rating is still acceptable, but it has room for improvement. In all cases, the main problem was working hours and overtime. We do everything we can to avoid this problem and place our orders outside of peak season. From 2023 we will only work with suppliers that are BSCI audited.
A key sustainability challenge for apparel companies is the very complex supply chain:
Different products are manufactured in distinct factories often throughout the world. These manufacturing companies are buying fabrics and components like zippers and knobs from many different fabric mills and component suppliers. The fabric mills are buying yarn from different yarn mills, which are sourcing their fibers from different fiber producers. The more complex this supply chain is, the more difficult it is for brands to achieve transparency and ultimately hold their supply chain partners accountable for social and environmental conduct. That is why transparency, traceability, certifications, and audits have become increasingly important. Brands buy a certified product or from a certified or audited factory to guarantee that it has lived up to defined criteria.
TIER 4 Fibers |
TIER 3 Yarns |
TIER 2 Fabrics |
TIER 1 Garments |
TIER 0 Brand |
Consumer use | End of life |