ETHICALSUPPLY CHAIN
When you run on to the field in S-Trend gear, you can be proud that your uniforms are made without harsh chemicals, in a production centre where we champion equal opportunity employment and a fair go for every employee.
Our supply chain has the following social accountability certifications:
ISO 9001®: Our production is certified with the International Standards Organisation ‘ISO 2001’ accreditation;
SGS® Certification: Our industry-leading processes have earned our apparel certification from the highly regarded SGS lab in Switzerland;
Oeko-Tex® Standard 100: Our fabrics are also certified by Oeko-Tex to be free from harmful chemicals. Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex is a worldwide consistent, independent testing and certification system for raw, semi finished and finished textile products at all processing levels. Our fabrics are certified on a comprehensive and strict catalogue of measures, with several hundred regulated individual substances, including:
Legal regulations such as banned Azo colourants, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol, cadmium, nickel etc;
Numerous harmful chemicals, even if they are not yet legally regulated;
Requirements of Annexes XVAA and XIV of the European Chemicals Regulation TEACh;
Requirements of the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act regarding lead; an
Numerous environmentally relevant substance classes.Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production®:
From the conception of our brand, “doing the right thing” has been important to our team and customers. For this reason, we are continuously developing our Responsible Production Strategy and this year have taken our first steps to obtain recognition for our zero tolerance towards bonded labour and child labour. Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is the world’s largest independent certification program for the apparel sector, encompassing the areas below and we are proud to partner with them to obtain recognition for what we stand for.
Prohibition of forced labour
Prohibition of child labour
Prohibition of Harassment or Abuse
Compensation and Benefits
Hours of Work
Prohibition of Discrimination
Health and safety
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
Customs compliance
The audit process is in progress and the addition of this certification to our existing suite further builds on the opportunity for us to tap into a network of international like-minded experts will be invaluable in terms of shared learnings, experiences and continuous improvement.
Our strict vetting rules in relation to sub-contractors have seen us previously reject production facilities which weren’t up to our standards.
Ethical Labour Recruitment
We are committed to ethical recruitment and the IRIS Standard below represents our expectations in relation to labour recruiters.
General Principle A: Respect for Laws, and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
The labour recruiters must comply with all applicable legislation, regulations, multilateral and bilateral agreements on labour migration, and policies related to the recruitment of migrant workers in the jurisdictions of origin, transit and destination countries, including those pertaining to the immigration or emigration of migrant workers. This principle explicitly prohibits the use of trafficking in persons, forced labour, and child labour, and includes respect for the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining and respect for equality of treatment and non-discrimination, as recognized in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
CRITERION A.1: The labour recruiter is compliant with all applicable laws in its countries of operation.
CRITERION A.2: The labour recruiter is compliant with international standards on prohibition of forced labour.
CRITERION A.3: The labour recruiter does not recruit migrant workers under the age of 18.
CRITERION A.4: The labour recruiter does not restrict migrant workers’ freedom of association.
CRITERION A.5: The labour recruiter does not recruit migrant workers for the purpose of replacing workers who are on strike.
CRITERION A.6: The labour recruiter ensures that migrant workers are treated equally throughout the recruitment process and are not discriminated on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender and gender identity, national or social origin, nationality, caste, age, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation, union membership, physical ability, health, pregnancy, marital or family status or any other status, in accordance with applicable law.
General Principle B: Respect for Ethical and Professional Conduct
In order to meet the responsibility to respect laws and comply with the IRIS Principles, the labour recruiters will have in place policies and processes, including due diligence, to ensure that their recruitment activities are consistent with the IRIS Principles and conducted in a manner that treats migrant workers with dignity and respect, free from harassment, or any form of coercion or degrading or inhuman treatment.
CRITERION B.1: The labour recruiter’s policies, procedures and practice comply with the IRIS Principles.
CRITERION B.2: The labour recruiter performs ongoing due diligence on employers and end-user employers to ensure their continued and uninterrupted compliance with applicable laws and labour standards.
CRITERION B.3: The labour recruiter performs ongoing due diligence on recruitment business partners and subcontractors to ensure their continued and uninterrupted compliance with applicable laws and the IRIS Principles.
Principle 1: Prohibition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs to Migrant Workers
The labour recruiters must not charge directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, any fees or related costs to migrant workers, for the services related to recruitment for temporary or permanent job placement or employment.
CRITERION 1.1: The labour recruiter has a policy commitment prohibiting the charging of recruitment fees and related costs to migrant workers, irrespective of where or how they are recruited.
CRITERION 1.2: Recruitment fees and related costs are not borne by the migrant workers.
CRITERION 1.3: The labour recruiter informs jobseekers during the recruitment process that they do not bear any costs of recruitment.
Principle 2: Respect for Freedom of Movement
The labour recruiters must not require migrant workers or their family members to provide a monetary deposit or other collateral as a condition of employment, and must not withhold, destroy or confiscate documents, wages, or other personal belongings, or otherwise limit freedom of movement.
CRITERION 2.1: The labour recruiter does not hold the passports, other identity documents, work permits or other documents of migrant workers without their informed written consent.
CRITERION 2.2: No labour recruiter withholds bank books, bank cards, deeds to real or personal property of the migrant workers or their family members at any time.
CRITERION 2.3: Employment contracts and service agreements between the labour recruiter and migrant workers do not limit their freedom of movement.
Principle 3: Respect for Transparency of Terms and Conditions of Employment
The labour recruiters must ensure that, prior to deployment, migrant workers are provided with written contracts in a language each worker understands, detailing the terms and conditions of employment including but not limited to the nature of work undertaken, rates of pay and pay arrangements, working hours, vacation and other leave, and all other lawful deductions from pay and benefits of employment in accordance with national law. The labour recruiters must ensure that the worker’s written consent is obtained without coercion.
CRITERION 3.1: The labour recruiter provides the migrant workers with a written employment contract that is straightforward and understandable by them and contains at a minimum: position of worker, job description, job site, commencement and duration of contract, details of transportation to and from country of destination, details of accommodation, meals provided under the contract, union or other legal dues payable by the worker (if applicable), name and address of the employer, wages and frequency of pay, working hours and days of rest, overtime rates, vacation, other leave entitlements, all lawful deductions from pay, benefits of employment and conditions of termination in accordance with applicable law.
CRITERION 3.2: The labour recruiter verifies that the terms and conditions of employment are the same as originally offered by the employer and comply with applicable law and practice.
CRITERION 3.3: The employment contract is provided to migrant workers prior to deployment.
CRITERION 3.4: The employment contract is agreed to and signed by migrant workers without coercion.
CRITERION 3.5: The employment contract signed by the worker is not substituted for another employment contract unless for better living and working conditions and agreed upon with the migrant worker.
CRITERION 3.6: The labour recruiter ensures that migrant workers receive pre-departure orientation (PDO) training.
Principle 4: Respect for Confidentiality and Data Protection
The labour recruiters must not record, in files or registers, personal data which is not required for judging the aptitude of migrant workers for jobs for which they are being or could be considered, or required to facilitate their deployment. The labour recruiters must ensure that all personal data that they collect, receive, use, transfer or store shall be treated as strictly confidential and shall not be communicated to any third party without the prior written informed consent of the worker or workers’ representative, unless required by law.
CRITERION 4.1: The labour recruiter has a policy on data protection which is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, and the IRIS Principles.
CRITERION 4.2: Personal data of migrant workers collected by the labour recruiter are relevant, protected and treated confidentially by the labour recruiter and any third party.
CRITERION 4.3: Informed consent is obtained from migrant workers at the time of collection of personal data.
CRITERION 4.4: The labour recruiter does not release migrant workers’ personal data without cause and their explicit consent.
Principle 5: Respect for Access to Remedy
The labour recruiter must ensure that migrant workers have effective access to remedy, without fear of recrimination, reprisal, or dismissal, such as internal grievance procedures of the labour recruiter and/or the employer and to those remedies provided by law in the country of origin and destination, in relation to their recruitment activities.
CRITERION 5.1: The labour recruiter has or participates in effective operational-level grievance mechanisms.
CRITERION 5.2: The labour recruiter ensures that the migrant workers are informed about and have an open and direct access to a grievance mechanism related to the recruitment process.
CRITERION 5.3: The labour recruiter provides migrant workers with information about available state, employer and industry provided grievance mechanisms related to the employment in both origin and destination countries.