Fair working conditions
We believe that it’s important that our products are made under fair working conditions. Everyone working in the clothing industry should have a safe work environment and receive a living wage. We do our best to make this a reality with our Living Wage projects, and by working together with Amfori BSCI.
Environmental, Social and Governance performance
Since 2015 we have been focusing on improving worker conditions in our partner factories, making this a core and intensive part of our business.
Fair Wear Foundation
From 2015 to 2023 we where affiliated with Fair Wear Foundation, an independent non-profit organization focused on improving working conditions in the clothing industry. They fight against child labor, for a living wage and for a safe and healthy work environment.
Amfori BSCI
From 2024 on we are affiliated with Amfori BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative), an international business association that promotes open, sustainable trade and helps us improve socially and environmentally responsible practices.
Amfori BSCI provides us with a system to monitor and ensure suppliers live up to ethical standards, including fair wages, safe conditions, and the prohibition of child and forced labor.
Practical steps are required to change the clothing industry. Amfori BSCI helps us in these ways:
- They give us a framework to check and manage the effects of our activities and those of our suppliers.
- They provide a code of conduct for us and our partners, based on international guidelines and labor standards.
- They monitor our partners to ensure they follow these standards, offering audit reports to identify and address risks and problems.
- They organize trainings for us and our business partners on responsible social and environmental practices.
- They provide local complaints mechanisms so workers can voice concerns and find sustainable solutions through independent investigation and feedback.
Amfori BEPI
Amfori BEPI (Business Environmental Performance Initiative) helps us enhance environmental performance in our supply chain. It offers tools to assess environmental risks at the factories, reduce impact, and promote sustainability throughout our supply chain. Currently, we are in the phase of collecting data from our suppliers via risk assessments on several topics such as resource efficiency, waste management, chemicals, biodiversity, and pollution control.
Brand Performance Check & Social Report
From 2015 to 2023 we where affiliated with Fair Wear Foundation. This is an independent non-profit organization focused on improving working conditions in the clothing industry. They fight against child labor, for a living wage and for a safe and healthy work environment.
Every year, we conduct independent audits at our factories to review our efforts and compile a report. These reports are available below.
Brand Performance Check 2023
Social Report 2023
Living wage
A living wage guarantees a proper standard of living, covering necessities like food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transportation, clothing and savings for unforeseen events. A living wage is higher than the legal minimum wage for factory employees. This difference is the reason for the so-called pay gap. Despite the challenges in the clothing industry, such as political systems and cultural differences, we are committed to addressing this issue.
'For Fair Fashion'
In 2022, we initiated our first living wage research project in Turkey, "For Fair Fashion," focusing on due diligence, wages, and equity for women in the garment sector. This project, conducted with RVO (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland), Fair Wear Foundation, and three brands - King Louie, Schijvens and Kuyichi - analyzed living wage payments and workplace violence in the garment supply chain.
We want to be transparent: our conclusion from this research is that influencing wages is impossible if our orders only represent a small part of the factory's total production. This highlights the crucial role of cooperation among all stakeholders in establishing a living wage.
Nevertheless, we achieved valuble insights from this project and made a positive impact at the participating factory through providing a special coupon that the workers could spend on living expences. Furthermore we continue to seek opportunities to make an impact on the living wage of our workers.