Ethical Responsibility

Transparency is a priority and essential to our Ethical Responsibility. Unauthorised subcontracting is a very real issue in global supply chains. We have worked very hard with our supply partners over the years to build trust and transparency, putting worker welfare front and centre.

Our suppliers are clear of their responsibility around disclosure. As part of our manufacturing authority, suppliers must disclose all information on where our product is being made. We continue to work with suppliers and continue to monitor for unauthorised sub-contracting.

Code of Conduct: 1.5. SAFE & HEALTHY WORKING ENVIRONMENTS SHALL BE PROVIDED
Factories shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding working conditions and shall provide workers with a safe and healthy environment.

See below how we are working with our suppliers to support a safe working environment:

Code of Conduct: 1.4 NON-DISCRIMINATION
There shall not be any discrimination in employment, including hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on the basis of; gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, political opinion, or social or ethnic origin.

No supplier shall engage in or support discrimination in hiring, remuneration, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, national or territorial origin, social origin, caste, birth, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, marital status, union membership, political opinions, age or any other condition that could give rise to discrimination.

See below how we are working with our suppliers to better promote gender equality:

Code of Conduct: 1.8. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND THE RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Respecting worker rights is fundamental to our ongoing business relationships. Having independent unionised factories gives assurance that worker labour rights are being respected.

However, in China, our main sourcing country, independent unions are illegal. Therefore we prioritise factories that have democratically elected worker representatives. This is checked by the auditor who interviews the worker representative and sights election details and meeting notes.

Code of Conduct: 1.4 NON-DISCRIMINATION
The factory is required to have a functioning grievance mechanism which includes investigation and efforts to address grievance. All workers should be trained on their rights and entitlements and how to use a grievance mechanism.

See below how we are working with our suppliers to support worker rights:

Code of Conduct: 1.3. PREVENTION OF FORCED LABOUR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Upholding human rights is fundamental to ethical partnerships. We prioritise factories that have democratically elected worker representatives or union reps, a functioning grievance mechanism and are trained in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

We have undertaken a labour risk assessment and work closely with our auditing partners to educate, identify, mitigate and remediate the risks of modern slavery.

Hallenstein Glassons have published a Modern Slavery statement, prepared in accordance with the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018. This statement outlines how we combat risks of modern slavery and reduce the risk of it happening within our operations.

Glassons does not own any factories which complicates our ability to put higher wages into workers pay packets. Therefore we have designed a roadmap to support our commitment to higher wages using data collected in our audits to track progress.

1. POLICIES AND CODE OF CONDUCT

2. Fair Wage

3. Living Wage

Our Code of Conduct is modelled on International Labour Organisation's (ILO) guidelines for sustainable work standards upholding international human rights.

A supplier to Glassons must agree and sign our Code of Conduct and demonstrate they understand the policies and actions required to maintain Glassons manufacturing authority.

Suppliers must ensure this is communicated to all owned and contracting factories, sub-contractors, input suppliers; to respect and comply with our Code of Conduct. Suppliers must disclose all sub-contractors used, and we give approval to the factories based on strict criteria.

Our Code of Conduct supports the following ethical trading principles:

This CODE applies to all our suppliers, their employees and subcontractors. We expect suppliers to ensure this is communicated to all stakeholders; to respect and comply with our Code of Conduct.

• 1.1. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS Factories that produce goods for Glassons shall operate in full compliance with the laws of their respective countries and with all other applicable laws, rules and regulations.
• 1.2. NO CHILD LABOUR SHALL BE USED No supplier shall engage in or support the use of child labour under 16 years of age, unless the minimum age for work or mandatory schooling is higher by local law, in which case the stipulated higher age applies in that locality.
  Employers must verify the age of their employees and maintain copies of their workers proof of age.
  Young workers between the ages of 16-18 shall not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions. If children are found to be working directly or indirectly for the supplier, Glassons ethical compliance manager must be notified immediately. The facility must participate in Glassons Child Remediation Process which provides for the child to remain in quality education until no longer a child.
• 1.3. PREVENTION OF FORCED LABOUR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING As a supplier to Glassons you must comply with Australia's Modern Slavery Act - Australian Modern Slavery Act
  Supplier shall ensure that all work is voluntary.
  Supplier shall not traffic persons or use any form of slave, forced, bonded, indentured or prison labour.
  Supplier shall not retain original identification papers and shall not require personnel to pay 'deposits' to the organisation upon commencing employment.
  Any Overtime Hours above contractual requirements is absolutely voluntary.
• 1.4. NO DISCRIMINATION IS PRACTICED There shall not be any discrimination in employment, including hiring, compensation, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement.
  There shall not be any discrimination on the basis of; gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, union membership, political opinion or ethnic origin.
  Supplier shall not require pregnancy or medical tests, except where required by applicable laws or regulations for workplace safety. Suppliers shall not improperly discriminate based on test results.
  The factory is required to have a functioning grievance mechanism which includes investigation and efforts to address grievance. All workers should be trained on their rights and entitlements and how to use a grievance mechanism.
• 1.5. SAFE & HEALTHY WORKING ENVIRONMENTS SHALL BE PROVIDED Worker health and safety is important to Glassons. Workers shall have the right to refuse unsafe work and to report unhealthy working conditions.
  Supplier shall obtain, keep current and comply with all required health and safety permits.
  Supplier shall meet compliance with up-to-date fire safety laws, fire-fighting equipment and the implementation of evacuation procedures and emergency plans.
  Employers shall ensure that workers have access to clean drinking water, sanitary washing facilities and an adequate number of toilets.
  All suppliers shall minimize or eliminate, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of injury and accidents in the workplace, based upon the prevailing health and safety knowledge of the industry sector and of any specific hazards.
  Hazards shall include, but not be limited to; fire safety, building safety, machine safety, chemical safety, and health safety.
  These standards must also be met in any canteen, dormitory, rest and recreational area provided for workers.
  
• 1.6. WAGES & BENEFITS All suppliers shall ensure that wages for a normal work week, not including overtime, shall always meet at least the minimum legal wage or collective bargaining agreement (where applicable)
  Supplier shall provide all legally mandated benefits and communicate pay structure and pay period to all workers.
  As a company we support Living Wage and encourage our suppliers to meet Living Wage benchmarks.
  All overtime shall be reimbursed at a premium rate as defined by national law or established by a collective bargaining agreement (where applicable).
  
• 1.7 NO HARSH OR INHUMANE TREATMENT IS ALLOWED All suppliers shall treat their personnel with dignity and respect. Supplier shall commit to a workplace free of harassment and abuse.
  No supplier shall engage in or tolerate the use of corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion.
  No supplier shall engage in or tolerate verbal abuse or any other form of intimidation.
  Any form of sexual abuse or harassment shall not be tolerated.
• 1.8. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND THE RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING All suppliers shall recognize the right of employees to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
  All suppliers shall ensure that their personnel have the right to form, join or organise a trade union.
  The supplier shall not interfere in any way with the establishment, functioning or administration of workers' organisation(s) or collective bargaining.
  All employers shall recognize the role of democratically elected worker representatives and must give them access to carry out their functions in the workplace.
  
• 1.9. SUPPORTING ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY All suppliers shall comply with local environmental law and obtain, keep current and comply with all required environmental permits.
  All suppliers shall comply with the reporting requirements of applicable permits and regulations.
  All factories shall comply with Glassons Restricted Substance List (RSL) and Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL)
  All factories must have an Environmental Action Plan documenting implemented controls to minimize the impacts on the environment for:
  
  • Solid Waste Disposal.
  • Hazardous chemicals storage / use / management / disposal.
  • Air and water emissions.
  • Adequate training for workers in the safe handling of chemicals.
  Suppliers must maintain procedures for notifying local authorities in the event of an environmental accident resulting from the supplier's operations.
• 1.10 RAW MATERIALS All raw materials used by suppliers must be ethically sourced and the standards outlined in this code of conduct must flow into all parts of their supply chain.
  Suppliers must not under any circumstances knowingly use cotton that is sourced from Uzbekistan or from any origin where child labour is known.
  Please read in conjunction with Glassons Animal Welfare Policy.
• 1.12. RIGHT OF INSPECTION Our company expects all suppliers and their contractors to respect and comply with our Code of Conduct.
  All suppliers must provide Glassons with current, accurate information regarding the name and location of all production facilities that are being used to make our product.
  Our company reserves the right to make unannounced visits to all associated manufacturers and suppliers by Glassons staff or by nominated third-party inspection companies on our behalf, to ensure all suppliers and production facilities comply with our Code of Conduct document.
• 1.13. NON-COMPLIANCE Non-compliance with any of these requirements may result in the immediate cancellation and termination of all outstanding orders and further business relations.

We use a variety of accredited certifications, which provides the authenticity we believe is important. In doing so, we ensure fibres are verified so we can confidently deliver responsibly sourced textiles.

By using these certifications, we can achieve greater visibility of Tier 2 supply chain providing more confidence with how our fibres are sourced and how our fabrics are made. The below certifications also audit all certified facilities on Socially responsible manufacturing.

Global Recycled Standard (GRS)

The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is a voluntary product standard for tracing and verifying the content of recycled materials in final product. This standard applies to the full supply chain and addresses traceability, environmental principles, social requirements, chemical content and labelling.

EUROPEAN FLAX ®

EUROPEAN FLAX ® certifies the exclusive origin of flax fibre from Western Europe: France, Belgium and the Netherlands. EUROPEAN FLAX ® fibre culture has low impacts on the environment: no irrigation, no GMO (genetic modifications), no waste. Our entire supply chain requires membership to EUROPEAN FLAX ® and must meet environmental and socially responsible manufacturing requirements.

The purpose of auditing is to ensure that our responsible sourcing Code of Conduct is being followed by our supplier factories. The auditing process is fundamental to our business supply partnerships to achieve our commitment to transparency, workers rights, protection of the vulnerable, fair wages and safe workplaces.

Our Tier 1 suppliers are audited by our external partner; Qualspec SgT. Qualspec conduct all audits according to the highest professional standards, using ISO 19011 principles to determine compliance to Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESC) framework - SA8000.

AUDITS THIS YEAR

Glassons approach to auditing goes beyond compliance. We take a collaborative approach with our suppliers, which results in better outcomes around transparency and trust.

Our auditing partner.

Qualspec is globally accredited meeting ISO 9001 standards to conduct Factory Assessment Audits and Ethical Social Compliance Audits.

Their technicians assess Glassons manufacturers compliance with our Code of Conduct, local labour laws and internal social standards. Based on findings during the audit, Qualspec will provide a corrective and preventive action plan for the manufacturer to improve where needed.

In 2019 Qualspec's teams joined forces with SgT, Worms Safety's global textile specialist, to complement their services and bring more added value.

Baptist World Aid Australia is a Christian NGO supporting individuals and communities around the world. After the tragedy of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, Baptist took action to shed light on what fashion brands and companies are doing to address forced labour, child labour and exploitation of workers in their supply chains.

The Ethical Fashion Report was first launched in 2013 - and has tracked progress within the industry having released 7 reports to date. The report scores Brands A+ to F based on how well they support workers. Tearfund is the New Zealand based Christian NGO managing NZ based fashion brands participation of The Ethical Fashion Report.

Hallenstein Glassons are committed to standing alongside our suppliers in these unprecedented times. In support of the Tearfund Covid Fashion Commitment, we fully endorse the call to action in supporting garment workers in our supply chain. In recognising our responsibility throughout the impact of COVID-19, we have worked closely with our suppliers and ensured flexibility on payment terms to support the respective businesses. We have paid in full for all goods that left factories prior to lockdown and remain committed to taking delivery of all finished orders. Whilst for a brief period in lockdown we did pause buying, we are now back trading and receipting orders from previously made garments and proactively working with suppliers on fabrics that we have committed too. We recognise the importance of collaboration with our partners to ensure we have a clear understanding of the challenges facing their business and workers. We value the continued support from SgT Qualspec and the work they do in supporting worker welfare and assessing compliance to our Code of Conduct. To further enable our commitment to support workers, we have engaged China NGO - Inno, offering independent support and guidance to workers on a case by cases basis. We value our relationships, with many of our suppliers having worked with us for over 10 years. The strong partnerships that we have formed has allowed us to work collaboratively to help mitigate the economic impact on supplier's businesses and workers as the world responds to COVID-19.

In 2020 the ethical fashion report was replaced with the Tearfund COVID-19 6 Fashion Commitments.

Glassons made a public commitment to support our factory workers and signed up to the Tearfund 6 Fashion Commitments, which are:

Tearfund/Baptist world released the results in October 2020, and we are pleased to update that Glassons took action to ALL 6 COVID-19 Fashion commitments as listed above, achieving the best result possible.