J.W. Brown Workwear

ETHICAL TRADING POLICY

JW BROWN is committed to conducting our business in accordance with a number of fundamental principals and values which we believe are important to uphold in respect of business ethics and respect for human rights.  We appreciate that other countries have different cultural, legal and ethical systems, however we expect any business partners, suppliers to satisfy certain basic requirements.

In connection with the above we have produced this Ethical Trading Policy, which is supported by Senior Management and has been guided by both industry and international standards.  As a company we support organisations in upholding human rights principles and make every effort to ensure we are not involved in human rights violations, either directly or indirectly.  We recognise that it is our responsibility to promote human rights through our employment policies and practices, through our supply chain and through the responsible use of our products and services.

ETHICAL TRADING

In choosing the businesses, we wish to develop long term partnerships with established key principles which we would expect these businesses to adhere to.  We consider these principles to be fundamental to our Ethical Trading Policy and have outlined them below:

1- Employment is freely chosen.

2- Freedom of association is respected.

3- Working conditions are safe and hygenic, including safe housing where appropriate.

4- Child labour shall not be used.

5- Compliance with the law - JW Brown requires that all suppliers' premises operate in accordance with the requirements of applicable law.

6- Living wages are paid in line with local law and working hours are not excessive.  Expect in exceptional circumstances employees shall not be required to work more than lesser of a- 48 hours per week, and 12 hours overtime or b- the limits on regular and overtime hours allowed by the law of the country of manufacture and (11) be entitled to at least one day off in every seven-day period.  All overtime work shall be optional.

7- Discrimination is not practised.

8- No harsh or inhumane treatment is not allowed.

9- Suppliers shall not use utilise subcontractors in the manufacturing of the products they supply to JW BROWN without prior approval and only after the sub-contractor has agreed to comply with the conditions outlined in this policy.

ETHICAL TRADING PRINCIPLES

Our suppliers should, as a minimum, comply with all statutory and local legal requirements relating to the environmental impacts of their business in their country.  In addition, steps should be taken to optimise the use of energy and natural resourses and reduce the generation of waste.

ETHICAL TRADING PRINCIPLES - SOURCING

We use a variety of methods to assess the ethical sourcing standards of our suppliers -

1- Vendor assessment questions.

2- Catalogue Research

3- Wed site research - look for ethical statements on-line.

4- Interviews and Discussion

We encourage a spirit of trust between JW BROWN and our suppliers and will work with them to achieve required ethical standards and, as far as possible, at no increase in cost or decrease in quality.

1- A senior management representative is responsible for compliance with this policy and effective communication of the policy to employees.  Suppliers are expected to do the same.

2- Suppliers and subcontractors will be treated fairly, honestly and in accordance with agreed terms.

3- We respect any confidental information provided by suppliers.

4- Any complaints from suppliers will be dealt with promptly and fairly.

5- It is not company policy to knowingly infringe on the copyright, trademarks, patents or other properly registered intellectual property of others.

RESPECT OF THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS

We will not knowingly source products from any suppliers who have been found guilty of abuses of working regulations.  This covers situations such as-

1- Where workers have been forced to work excessive overtime.

2- Where workers are not paid the legal rate of pay or overtime (applicable to the country in question)

3- Where threats or intimidation are used to force staff to work excessive hours..

4- Where health and safety of workers is put at risk.