ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE SOURCING BEST PRACTICES

We are committed to achieving globally recognised standards of ethical sourcing and sustainable product delivery, together with the best manufacturing and Supply Chain practices.

We are proud members of SEDEX and Full Members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), and a Certified Australian Trusted Trader. Our collective businesses are committed to achieving globally recognised standards of Ethical Sourcing, together with sustainable production and product sourcing with the best manufacturing and Supply Chain practices.

Our businesses recognise our roles and responsibilities in protecting human rights throughout our Supply Chains through Ethical and Sustainable engagement with our Supply Chain Partners whilst incorporating a commitment to upholding United Nations Guiding Principles on business and human rights (UNGPS) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) core conventions.

Hotsprings and our Brands associates P.E Nation, and Rebecca Vallance, design, source, and contract manufacture of apparel and associated products internationally to our retail partners and via our extensive online service platforms.

Hotsprings was incorporated in 1993 with an embedded commitment to ensure the health, wellbeing, and safety of all workers today which we see across our Supply Chains which are built on the principles of sharing success with Supply Chain Partners and Workers.

P.E Nation (Bcorp Certified) entered into partnership with Hotsprings in 2016, and Rebecca Vallance followed in 2017. Both brands share group commitments to Ethical and Sustainable Practices across their Supply Chains.

We are proud to be accepted as Full Members of the ETI after a journey from Foundation Membership which saw dramatic upheaval from the impacts of COVID across Supply Chains where support and guidance from the ETI and SEDEX enabled us to maintain our vision and commitments with programs that support our Supply Chain Partners and Workers.

The ETI Base Code and its principles incorporated into SEDEX SMETA Audit Programs have given us a level of transparency across all our Tier 1 Suppliers who are listed in detail across our collective websites with further additions and reviews to follow.

With ETI guidance we have successfully moved forward with the implementation of various Workers’ Grievance Reporting Programs including third party Workers’ Voice Programs, and most recently our role out of our “WE CARE: WE LISTEN” Workers’ Grievance reporting program which operates with support from workers’ representatives and committees. We will continue to work with the ETI and SEDEX towards transparent mitigation and remedy programs.

Our membership of SEDEX; a global organisation dedicated to driving improvements in Ethical and Sustainably Responsible Sourcing business practices across all levels of Supply Chains supports our commitment to operate and manage a responsible sourcing program that provides workers with safe working environments that ensure their Human Rights are upheld whilst enabling protection of their rights to free speech and remediation of grievances in a working environment supported by ongoing improvement programs and initiatives.

Use of ETI resources together with SEDEX systems have given us the ability to identify our Supply Chain major salient rights issues and we have begun the roll out of programs together with our Supply Chain Partners aimed at mitigation and ongoing improvement together with remediation projects that focus across areas including excessive working hours, correct level of social insurance payments to workers, safety and workers health, payments of living wages, and gender discrimination programs.

We are committed to having our Supply Chain Partners work with us in achieving the ETI goals of ensuring workers the provision of decent work protection of the vulnerable, access to human rights, a living wage, and dignity for all; free from exploitation and abuse whilst providing opportunities for personal growth.

 

For more information, please refer to the following links:

Home | Ethical Trading Initiative (ethicaltrade.org)

Sustainable Supply Chain Solutions - Sedex

For further updates on our COVID-19 Statement, please click on link below.

COVID19 Statement.pdf