We aim to be the best school sports and uniform company in the world and that means meeting the challenges we face head on and finding the appropriate responses to them. Our challenges are:
To be competitive requires that we respond to consumer demands for a broad range of products. This in turn means we need a wide variety of suppliers. Ensuring consistent compliance with our social and environmental standards across this broad and complex supply chain is a challenge.
What we are doing:
Our Workplace Standards are based on the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN conventions relating to human rights and employment practices. The Workplace Standards are fundamental to our relationships with our suppliers and are a contractual obligation.
During this year we are beginning to set out our policies to all our suppliers. These policies contain uniform procedures related to disclosure of suppliers, approval of new suppliers, enforcement actions and termination practices.
Most of our products while designed in house are manufactured by suppliers under contract. Outsourced production is not without its risks. We have less control over how our suppliers operate and the conditions at their factories than we would do at a company-owned site.
What we are doing:
Within our current supply chain we act as both inspectors and advisors, assessing management commitment to our Workplace Standards but also training our suppliers on the key issues.
Our strategy is based on a long-term vision of self-governance for our suppliers and focuses on:
SWI has its own internal team for assessing how well our suppliers are complying with our supply chain code of conduct, the Workplace Standards. Some people question how impartial an internal team can be so we also involve independent third parties in investigating and verifying supplier performance.
What we are doing:
We value transparency and stakeholder feedback. We report regularly on our compliance work, including the location of our suppliers globally. We also submit our programme to evaluation and public reporting by ETI, a non-profit organisation which assesses and audits our compliance programmes and publishes its results. Moreover, we practise full disclosure to researchers, trade unions and other concerned NGOs, based on their specific requests.
We also work collaboratively with our suppliers, labour activists, academics and others because we believe that working closely together demonstrates our commitment to meeting stakeholders' concerns and creating lasting change in factory and environmental conditions.
As a company we do not act in isolation: we have to react to economic and social developments in the countries where our products are made.
What we are doing:
Integrating our standards into our day-to-day operations lies at the heart of our ability to respond to these developments. The 'Ethical Trade Team' (ETT) was created in 2010 to ensure supply chain compliance with the Workplace Standards. To make this a part of normal business practice, ETT members work closely with the Buying team, which is responsible for developing and sourcing products from suppliers.
To drive change in supplier behaviour and practices, the results of supply chain compliance performance are analysed by the ETT and other supply chain decision-makers. So the Workplace Standards are an integral part of the manufacturing agreements SWI holds with its business partners. And the Buying department refer to our suppliers' performance against our Standards when deciding which suppliers to select and retain. In this way, we are driving change in the way our suppliers do business.
Our products must be competitive in function and price but also safe. Manufacturing products must be done with the least environmental impact without compromising function and quality. And we have to be efficient in our use of resources but also fully support our international business. The challenge is to balance these various demands.
What we are doing:
Reducing pollution with so-called end-of-pipe solutions offers only limited environmental benefits, so we strive to design out environmental problems by:
Our challenge is to recruit, retain and develop our employees so they achieve their full potential.
What we are doing:
The success of SWI is a direct result of the engagement of the people who work for us. We strive to be the best and most productive workplace in the industry by:
Our business has an impact on communities all round the world. We need to understand local needs and design programmes that are core to our business strategy and make a real difference to people's lives.
What we are doing:
SWI has adopted a largely decentralised model for community involvement, recognising that local people best understand the needs and cultural sensitivities of their local communities. These initiatives derive from our individual identities and values. They may vary in form, but they are all aimed at supporting children and young adults, with sports as a common theme.
Community Affairs
It is our responsibility as a member of the community to act as a true corporate citizen and we are committed to doing this through a range of programmes and activities including corporate giving, and community relations programmes.
Current Charity involvement includes:
