Responsible sourcing
The Way We Source
We know the textile supply chain has a significant environmental impact, which is why we invest time and energy to nurture our supplier partnerships and source from ethical manufacturers. We work with highly skilled sewers in China, wool growers in Australia and bamboo farmers in Asia to produce pants for our global customers.
We are currently on a journey to map our suppliers from the farm to our cut-and-sew facilities, a process which will continue throughout 2022 and 2023. We have set high environmental and social standards to provide confidence in our products throughout their life cycle. While many brands do not trace their supply chain back to fibre creation we feel this is important for transparency.
Code of Conduct and Living Wage
Supply chains are complex and busy and we understand that improvements start with learning and setting standards. All our direct suppliers agree to our Code of Conduct which is based on the International Labour Organization's core standards for safe, fair and healthy working conditions.
We work with our suppliers to support their knowledge and capacity building to meet these requirements.
In 2022 we have collaborated with not-for-profit sector experts to analyse our Tier 1 garment worker wages. This identified our suppliers are paid a living wage or above a minimum wage. We review supplier wages against the Global Living Wage Anker Methodology annually.
A Living Wage should be earned in a standard work week (of up to 48 hours) by a worker and be sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and their family.
Elements of a decent standard of living include food, housing, healthcare, clothing, education, transportation, energy and water. It also includes some money that can be put aside for unexpected events.
Auditing And Monitoring
We use a suite of auditing platforms and tools to monitor and continually improve the environmental and social impacts of our supply chain. Â
We use the Sustainable Apparel Coalition Higg Index to measure the environmental and social performance of our supply chain. This third-party audit process alerts us to areas of concern and opportunities for improvement. The Higg Index Factory Environmental Module (FEM) measures governance, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, wastewater, waste and chemical management. The Factory Social and Labour Module (FSLM) identifies compliance with workers’ rights, facility conditions, child labour, wages and working hours, health and safety, transparency and community empowerment. Â
Our manufacturing supply chain for GOTS organic cotton is audited and certified against the GOTS criteria for both environmental and social impacts.
Many of our suppliers also participate in the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), which similarly supports ethical working conditions.
Our goal is to support our suppliers to continue improving each year, with a firm focus in 2022 on working hours, living wages (payment above and beyond the minimum wage), energy efficiency and carbon reduction.
