Can you confirm whether the facility linked to the allegation(s) is within your supply chain?

Both Crony Tex Sweater and DIRD Composite Textiles are no longer active in our supply chain. We have worked with both factories at different times in the past. It is also worth noting that both of these factories have had relationships with other major, international retailers.

Crony Text Sweater was acting as an authorised and approved sub-contractor production facility of a UK based supplier. We received notification of the factory’s closure in December 2023.

DIRD Composite Textiles was a supplier historically, with our final order placed in May 2022 before we formally disengaged in February 2023.

We request more information on the allegation(s), including what your company has done to investigate it and ensure remedy for workers

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In relation to Crony Tex Sweater, was an authorised factory for one of our suppliers. Any orders placed here will have been confirmed with the supplier.

In relation to DIRD Composite Textiles, we are aware of correspondence between the supplier and third parties in relation to the resolution of complaints. Until January of this year, the supplier was engaged in active correspondence with the Accord in relation to individual complaints. We have seen evidence that some of these complaints have been resolved successfully. We have asked the Accord for further information regarding these issues and will consider our next steps once we are in receipt of this.

How are you ensuring that your purchasing practices (fair prices; lead times; payment terms; order volumes*) in relation to this facility meet the standard required to protect workers rights and livelihoods?

We published a set of Responsible Purchasing Practices (RPPs) in 2022 and our Ethical Compliance team continuously conduct training sessions with our brands to ensure our teams act in a responsible manner. The RPPs consist of 6 themes:

- We are fair; We are committed to having fair and ethical purchasing agreements with our suppliers and have an open and transparent way of working with our suppliers.

- We are committed to working with an ethically compliant supplier base; we are fully invested in our supply base and our sourcing and ethical compliance team will maintain an ethically compliant supply chain. Our buyers and merchandisers are committed to working with an ethical supply chain.

- We communicate with clarity and frequency; Communication, clarity, context and consistency across our internal teams are the key to ensure that we are delivering our responsible purchasing practices.

- We are transparent with our supplier base; Our sourcing strategy is an integral part of supporting the overall – without suppliers we have no product and we should see them as an extension of our teams.

- We are committed to offering more sustainable products; As a responsible retailer we want to work with trusted suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of the products that we sell. We do this through strong processes, collaboration and innovation.

- We have the right tools and knowledge to do our job; To educate our product teams with the most relevant training and tools to purchase responsibly and ethically.