Soziale Verantwortung

Nachhaltigkeit, ethische, ökologische und soziale Verantwortung

Sustainability

We welcome the responsible use of natural resources and insist on finding ways to reduce or eliminate the use of finite resources, recycling where possible, what we do use.

Recycled Fleece

Im Herbst/Winter 2015 haben wir erstmalig unseren “Recycled Fleece” vorgestellt, der aus recycelten Flaschen hergestellt wird. Der Fleece bietet eine hohe Leistungsfähigkeit für unsere umweltbewussten Kunden und schont dabei den Planeten. Weich und komfortabel und das zu einem unschlagbaren Preis!

Das recycelte Material ist Bestandteil von vielen Craghoppers Modellen, natürlich auch vom Corey und Miska Fleece, die für ihr angenehmes Tragegefühl bekannt sind.

Trotz recyceltem Material verliert keines unserer Fleece Oberteile an Leistung oder Komfort. Eigenschaften die Craghoppers Kunden erwarten und auf die sie sich verlassen.

Jim McNamara , Geschäftsführer von Craghoppers  sagt: “Das verwenden von recycelten Materialien ist eine natürliche Entwicklung für jede Marke, die kontinuierlich das Konzept einer verantwortungsvollen Produktion weiterentwickelt. Die Natur ist unser Erbe und wir alle haben eine Verantwortung diese zu pflegen und zu schützen.

“Von Anfang an war es uns wichtig, dass wir für unsere Fleece erneuerbare und nachhaltige Materialien verwenden, die den gleichen Komfort und  Leistung bieten die unsere Kunden kennen und lieben, zum regulären Preis. Eine Auswahl zu erstellen, die alles oben erwähnte vereint, während man die Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt mindert, ist in unseren Augen eine Win-Win Situation.”

Ethische Verantwortung

Wir fühlen uns sehr stark dafür verantwortlich, dass unsere Arbeitnehmer/innen in unseren Fabriken fair behandelt werden und von einer Zusammenarbeit mit uns profitieren. Wir wollen nicht das unsere Qualitätsware auf Kosten der Arbeiter gefertigt wird. Aus diesem Grund sind wir seit 2012 Mitglied der Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) und als ETI Mitglied fordern wir von unseren Lieferanten dem ETI-Basiskodex zu folgen.
Die festgelegten Standards müssen von unseren Lieferanten unterzeichnet werden, bevor wir mit diesen zusammenarbeiten.

Umwelt

Wir versuchen alle Chemikalien oder Abfallprodukte, resultierend aus unseren Arbeitsabläufen zu kontrollieren bzw. zu vernichten, damit diese keinen Einfluss auf die Gesellschaft und die Umwelt haben.

Sozial

Wir wollen wissen, dass die Zusammenarbeit mit uns einen positiven Einfluss auf das Leben unserer Mitarbeiter, Lieferanten und Kunden und ihre Gemeinden haben wird. Wir arbeiten hart, um das zu erreichen.

Our Ethical Trading Responsibility

Ethical Trading has always been a cornerstone within our businesses. It is championed by our owner and Group Buying Director Joanne Black and runs through the core of the business. We believe that making good quality clothing, footwear and accessories need not come at the expense of others. We are proud to be foundation stage members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), working towards improving working conditions for workers in our partner factories in the Far East (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China and India among others). The ETI brings together brands, retailers, suppliers, unions and voluntary organisations to improve conditions for workers.

We joined ETI in 2012 and as an ETI foundation stage member , we are committed to upping our game each year – continuously improving the way we source our garments so that workers benefit, helping our suppliers to be better employers and benchmarking our procedures within our supplier base with the most forward looking companies in the UK and Europe. We have learnt a lot. We thank our partners who have worked with us over the last year.

We are pleased to have developed better internal systems to analyse our factory inspections. We have developed more rigorous reports and we have completed several training sessions for internal staff and with key suppliers.

We work with many partner factories all over the world, but before doing so we ensure that they share our passion for the outdoors and that they follow the same working ethics as we do. Before we consider working with a supplier, we check that they are as passionate about what they do, as we are.

We carry out open face-to-face discussions followed up by letters of commitment stating the ETI Base code that all suppliers have to sign. These clearly outline the standards that we expect all of our suppliers to meet.

Following that, we carry out an in house visual factory evaluation, focusing on critical health and safety points, such as fire safety, cleanliness and safety of the working environment, availability of clean drinking water and first aid supplies as well as any indication that child labour may be employed.

In addition to our own visual factory evaluation, we progress to a 3rd party audit to verify our initial findings and to gain in-depth understanding of each factory’s compliance level, examining records on workers IDs, child labour, wages and working hours, fire and building certificates, internal health and safety procedures and training of workers. Employee interviews are included on a one-to-one and group basis to cross reference information and give the workers a voice. The factory is then provided with the audit report and corrective action plan, which they must work to complete within agreed deadlines. This is closely monitored by our own dedicated teams in China and Bangladesh.

Harassment, Abuse and Discrimination

 

  • The work environment shall be free from abuse, harassment, intimidation or physical punishment of any sort.
  • Craghoppers and our third party organisation carry out interviews with workers in confidence to ensure there are no cases of bullying, abuse or discrimination based on nationality, race, religion, gender, age, personal characteristics or beliefs.
  • Employees are hired, paid and promoted based on their ability to do the job. If the employee cannot fulfill their duties adequately it will be at the discretion of the employer to terminate the contract.

Working Hours and Remuneration

  • Total working hours will not exceed the maximum legal limits.
  • All overtime shall be voluntary and workers will be paid overtime in accordance with national law.
  • Wages must be at least the minimum required by local law, including allowances and benefits.
  • All workers must receive a clear contract, a letter of employment or other verifiable statement, setting out the terms and conditions of employment, including working hours and rate of pay.

Health and Safety

  • It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure the provision of a safe and hygienic working environment, including safe housing where appropriate.
  • Health and safety is a major part of Craghoppers initial visual factory evaluation and only upon completion of all points and compliance, will Craghoppers start working with the factory.
  • Areas covered include: exits unblocked/unlocked, exits leading to place of safety, availability of fire extinguishers and other firefighting equipment, sufficient aisle space which is free of obstruction and have clear markings, appropriate and adequate amount of first aid equipment provided.
  • It is also a condition that employees will be provided with safety equipment and sufficient safety training.
  • Unrestricted access to clean sanitary facilities and potable water shall be provided.

Housing and Accommodation

  • Accommodation, if provided, should be clean, safe and in good repair.
  • There should be sufficient space, with no more than 10 persons per room, and suitable segregation by gender.
  • There should be at least 2 fire escapes per floor with emergency exit routes clearly marked.
  • The accommodation must have suitable furniture and facilities.

Freedom of Association

  • Suppliers will recognise the right of employees to join unions or representative committees and the right of worker’s associations to collective bargaining.
  • If there is any breach of this code which Craghoppers considers to be severe or persistent, or the supplier is unwilling or unable to make the necessary improvements within a reasonable time frame, Craghoppers may terminate its relationship with that supplier.

Our Environmental Responsibility

We recognise that our business will inevitably have some impact on the environment. Our policy is to minimise our environmental footprint, as far as we reasonably can and to make positive progress each year. By setting out a clear vision and having in place a mechanism to measure and monitor performance, we will ensure continuous progress towards our goals.

Environment

Waste Management

Our sites in the UK all comply with waste management legislation and the relevant environmental regulations by recording all movements of general waste. This is then matched with certificates received from authorised contractors, verifying the appropriate disposal. Clean and foul drain systems are identified where appropriate and comply with the requirements of pollution control regulations. Arrangements are in place to manage chemical spillage with appropriate spill kits installed at all site facilities.

Our suppliers are required to hold the appropriate licences and records for monitoring and managing waste, material discharge and waste treatment and comply with the appropriate regulations in force under local laws. 3rd party audits are carried out to make sure that:

  • Waste water/exhaust are purified before they are released into the environment
  • Factories have the relevant permit for waste discharge
  • Factories maintain programs targeting avoidance of water, reduction of raw materials and energy use

Recycling

We aim to recycle as much waste as reasonably possible. At all our operating sites we have recycle centres and we segregate waste streams ready for disposal. Working with properly registered and licensed contractors, the following waste streams are shipped to recycling facilities: cardboard packaging, polythene packaging, office paper, printer cartridges, lamps & lights, WEEE (electronic equipment), cans, bottles and wood.

Craghoppers adheres to the Green Dot European network of industry-funded systems for recycling the packaging materials of consumer goods for Germany.

Energy efficiency

Our warehouses are fitted with high frequency TS light fittings and they are on sensors so the energy used changes to the presence of people in that area. Lighting sensors are also used throughout the offices. We also use low energy usage battery chargers for our MHE.

Control of Hazardous Substances

The health, safety and welfare of our employees and anyone else who comes into contact with our operations is of paramount importance.

Our arrangements include provisions to comply with regulations setting out the measures for managing the presence and the use of chemicals or substances that may be potentially hazardous to health. This is relevant both within wholly controlled operational sites and those of our key supply chain partners.

The company has in place management systems that comply with the requirements of The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). Under these regulations, UK operations evaluate and control the risks to the health of all employees from exposure to hazardous substances at work.

The company has in place a regime of 3rd party audits to verify that supply chain manufacturers comply with local legislation ensuring as a minimum that,

  • Chemicals are well covered and safely stored
  • Workers handling chemicals are appropriately trained
  • Workers have access to suitable equipment and protective clothing when handling any chemicals

Reach

Craghoppers has over 50 years experience of global sourcing in the garment industry. The regulations act as our principle point of reference for protecting human health and the environment. We invest substantial time and effort to fully understand our responsibilities and obligations under the REACH legislation, and to stay at the forefront of the regulations as they come into force.

We are committed to taking all reasonable measures to ensure that our products remain within the acceptable boundaries set out by the regulations.

Efficient use of resources

Craghoppers has offices in China and Bangladesh which are close to our factories. This has enabled us to make efficiency savings in getting better samples through better monitoring of sample production and eliminating unnecessary trips needed by employees in UK, thus controlling the environmental impact of our miles.