The clothing specialist Olymp Bezner KG from Bietigheim-Bissingen and the Schrozberg-based work clothing manufacturer Hakro GmbH have teamed up to ensure that their products are manufactured under environmentally and socially acceptable conditions. To this end, a joint audit program called “Impact” has been developed for corporate due diligence in their supply chains.
This was developed with the support of and in close coordination with the Fair Wear Foundation, of which both companies are members, as well as with the service provider Elevate Ltd., which specializes in the sustainable design of supply chains. from Hong Kong.
Impact program aims to improve working conditions
“Impact” is an acronym that stands for the terms “Insight”, “Motivation”, “Partnership”, “Action”, “Capacity Building” and “Transparency”. Accordingly, the program has an eye on people, is intended to provide in-depth insights into their working conditions and to motivate partner companies to initiate sustainable improvements in joint cooperation, to further develop skills in securing international social standards and thereby guarantee the greatest possible traceability.
“The growing challenges of global supply chains can only be solved together. That is why we have joined forces in an unprecedented cooperation with Hakro, who stand for the same values as we do. Due to the size of our company, neither of us has been directly affected by the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, but both are based on its requirements, ”explains Ilyta LaCombe, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Olymp, in a joint statement.
Specifically, the Impact program primarily focuses on carrying out thorough reviews and inspections in the manufacturing plants, with the aim of “creating a basis for improvement in partnership through transparency”, according to companies that particularly want to actively improve people’s employment situation.
Accordingly, the program is characterized by a participatory approach that includes the workforce in the evaluation processes through anonymous surveys, among other things. They also have the opportunity to present the working conditions from their personal point of view. “In this way, any problems can be identified better and more appropriately and the necessary improvements can be implemented much more effectively,” explain Olymp and Hakro.
After an extensive pilot and transition phase, which has been running for some time in selected companies of the two companies, including Indonesia, China, Cambodia and Bulgaria, it is planned that other companies from the textile and clothing industry will be able to join the program in the future.