Ethics — Understanding that our business has an environmental but moreover, a social impact, we see it as our responsibility to care. Therefore, we commit ourselves to care about working conditions in the countries where our products are manufactured.

As a result, we initiated a 2-year project, funded by the German Ministry of Development to improve standards drastically. A focus was set on both implementing qualifications of suppliers as well as building educational structures within Bangladesh’s garment industry. Since the project kick-off in 2015, relevant topics such as improved management systems on social- and environmental standards, productivity and quality assurance have been introduced at four of our garment manufacturing factories – representing more than 10.000 employees. Additional to our in-house expertise we included further textile experts to conduct on-site assessments at the factories. All four nominated suppliers received an action plan with defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for improvements in the five key areas of energy and water consumption, productivity, chemical management and health and safety. Great improvements have been achieved, for example one factory was able to reduce its total electricity usage about 58% while another factory increased their production efficiency by 22%. Regular skills-based trainings and workshops were conducted throughout the project duration. Selected factory staff was trained to assist in complying with health and safety requirements and the implementation of precautions in the event of fire, earthquakes or severe floodings. Employees working within the field of dyeing and finishing received intensive trainings on chemical management and resource efficiency.