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Our suppliers and ethical trade

We work with suppliers in a range of countries with diverse cultures and economies. We value the long-standing and trusting relationships we have built and strive to work with them transparently and openly. Our Supplier Code of Conduct outlines the minimum ethical standards we require, and we monitor and audit our suppliers against this code to ensure they treat their employees fairly.

Our supply chain

We currently source from 105 suppliers using 238 factories in 16 different countries. Our top sourcing countries are China, India, Turkey, UK, Vietnam & Portugal.*

* This data is correct as of 12th December 2023.

Ethical Sourcing

People are at the heart of OB and that includes the people all around the world involved in making the products we sell. We believe in fair workplaces where workers’ rights and welfare are respected and protected. Through our ethical sourcing program, we seek to uphold the principles of good governance and social and environmental sustainability and we are committed to driving positive change.

Our Ethical Sourcing Program helps us act with due diligence for the protection of workers across our supply chains and operations. We are committed to respecting internationally recognised human rights and communicate these principles through our supplier portal, The Suppliers Guide to Working With OB. The supplier portal hosts a range of resources that supports suppliers in trading with OB, including our supply chain policies and our Supplier Code of Conduct, which they review and sign online to commit to upholding these principles together.

Working collaboratively with our suppliers is of paramount importance to us. We work on a continuous improvement basis and ask for transparency and co-operation in return. This enables us to have an open dialogue and pursue outcomes that are best for worker welfare.

Our Supplier Code of Conduct

Our Supplier Code of Conduct details the minimum standards we expect from the suppliers we use to manufacture our products. Our Code is based on the ETI Base Code covering the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is an internationally recognised code of labour practice.

The Code outlines workers’ fundamental rights and freedoms including the elimination of forced labour. We continually review this Code to ensure any new advancements are updated and communicated to our suppliers.

In addition to these standards, suppliers must comply with all relevant local and national laws. If there is a conflict between national law and the Code, the supplier must adhere to the standard which provides the worker with the greatest protection.

Our Supplier Code of Conduct principles

1. Employment is freely chosen
2. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected
3. Working conditions are safe and hygienic
4. Child labour shall not be used
5. Living wages are paid
6. Working hours are not excessive
7. No discrimination is practised
8. Regular employment is provided
9. No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
10. Environmental management
11. Animal welfare (if applicable)

Monitoring and auditing

Working collaboratively with our suppliers is of paramount importance to us. We work on a continuous improvement basis and ask for transparency and co-operation in return.

Factories complete an ‘ethical’ or ‘social’ audit at least every two years, by an approved third-party auditor. These audits include site inspections, document reviews and interviews with workers in their local language to really understand their working conditions.

Where issues are identified, we will work with the supplier to resolve the issue over an agreed timeframe, providing as much support and guidance as needed.

Ethical Trading Initiative

We are proud to have been a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) since 2017, which is a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs that promotes respect for workers’ rights around the globe. We are an active member of ETI, working closely with other members to work in partnership on projects aimed at tackling key ethical trade issues and high-risk areas

Sedex

We are a member of Sedex, a collaborative platform for sharing responsible sourcing data on supply chains. We wanted to reduce the administrative burden on our suppliers and Sedex’s system allows us to track any ethical audits our suppliers have already obtained and gives further visibility in factory and workforce details.

Cotton sourcing

There are ongoing concerns about the use of Government-backed forced labour and child labour during the cotton harvest season in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Additionally, there are reports of forced labour within Muslim communities on cotton plantations in Xinjiang, Uygur Autonomous Region.

We are joining other retailers, trade unions and NGOs to voice our concern about this practice, and to try to understand and address it. We have banned the use of cotton from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Uygur Autonomous Region in our products.

Modern Slavery Act Statement 2023

In line with the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, we have published our sixth Modern Slavery Statement. We recognise we have a responsibility to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking throughout our organisation and in our supply chain and this recent statement highlights the progress we have made.

Working collaboratively is ingrained in how we operate, both at Oliver Bonas and with our suppliers. By working in partnership with other like-minded organisations we aim to achieve a greater impact.
To enable industry collaboration and drive continuous improvements in our supply chains, we have developed this interactive map showing our Tier 1 suppliers.

We have excluded 29 suppliers from this map so we can continue to offer our customers special and unique products exclusively sourced from them.