MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT 2020 / 2021 - FatFace
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MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT 2020 / 2021
MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT 2020 / 2021
OUR COMMITMENT ABOUT FATFACE
I am so proud of the continued continue to support our suppliers Over the course of the last Founded in 1988, FatFace is a Since our last Statement FatFace We report on our Modern Slavery
commitment that FatFace has in to make improvements to their financial year, we have initiated British, family, lifestyle clothing has undergone a change in risks and responsibilities as
undertaking due diligence and working conditions. However, we a new human rights and modern brand that is Made for Life. With ownership, which means we have part of our sustainability KPIs;
addressing any human rights have seen a deepening of some slavery risk assessment of a unique heritage, FatFace creates new members of our Group Board progress against these KPIs is
risks that appear within our endemic issues such as wages our top 5 sourcing countries, sustainable product ranges representing our new shareholders. reviewed every 2 months by our
business. Like many businesses non-compliance and long working which we have used to identify across women’s, men’s, and kid’s This has meant a renewed focus senior management team and
in the UK and around the world, hours amongst some suppliers. priority supply chains for deeper clothing, footwear and accessories on modern slavery risks as we annually through the FatFace
over the past 12-18 months FatFace Our focus now is to ensure that analysis. We’re embarking on an for the whole family to live life brief those new to our business on Group Board Audit Committee.
has experienced unprecedented these issues are rectified, and that assessment process to understand in. Our products are designed our activity in this area. Our new We’ve also recently moved to
changes to our operations in workers’ lives are not negatively the presence of human rights with purpose and built to last. shareholders have also prompted monthly reporting to the Group
our stores, online and in our impacted in the long term. We’re risks, including modern slavery Considered Style. Trusted Quality. us to undertake a deeper supply Board of several key sustainability
supply chains. We’ve experienced working with in-country assessment and forced labour risks, in 3 of Sustainably Sourced. chain mapping exercise earlier indicators. This means we’re
disruptions to our critical paths teams and our manufacturing our second-tier supply chains in our strategic plan than we regularly scrutinising our
unlike any we’ve known before, and partners to achieve this. in India and Turkey. We’ll be FatFace is a multichannel retailer, had originally scheduled, which performance against targets to
throughout we’ve shown resilience reporting on the outcomes of with a thriving international illustrates their commitment to ensure sufficient progress is being
as well as continuous support for FatFace tracks a number of key these assessments in our next digital business as well as over understanding and addressing made and any issues that arise
our manufacturing partners. The performance indicators to ensure statement. 200 stores in the UK and over modern slavery and human are promptly investigated and
vast majority of our partners have that we continue to conduct 20 stores in the US and a highly trafficking risks in the supply chain. resolved.
emerged from the worst of the proper supply chain due diligence, I am confident in the steps engaged social community. We are
pandemic with their businesses which includes assessing common we are taking to identify and a brand with sustainability at its We continue to take a robust Our sustainability KPIs cover
and workforces intact, and I believe symptoms of modern slavery resolve Modern Slavery risks core, with a clear strategy around approach to sustainability, which our supply chain due diligence
that our approach, supporting our risks. We report on these KPIs in our supply chain and we will three key pillars – product, planet, is a core part of our business activities, which is the route
partners and working together, has to our senior management remain fully focused on these and community. Devoted to style, strategy and includes a clear through which modern slavery
contributed to that. team every 2 months, to our activities through our responsible dedicated to sustainability. reporting structure into the symptoms and risks are raised
Group Board at least once per sourcing programme, working Operational and Group Boards. and escalated as business-critical
We also know that the risks
to workers have changed and
year and publicly through this
statement. We are also reporting
in close collaboration with our
manufacturing partners.
OVER 200 Our Modern Slavery Act 2015
responsibilities sit with our
issues. Our Operational and
Group Boards are experienced
worsened as a result of the against a number of other STORES IN THE Responsible Sourcing team, which in managing governance around
pandemic. It is the poorest in
the world that have been
indicators regarding our broader
Sustainability Strategy every
UK AND OVER 20 is led by our Trading Director
Nick Stevenson, who sits on our
sustainability and they provide
vigorous scrutiny of our approach
impacted the most by lockdowns month. Our KPIs include: STORES IN THE US executive Operational Board. and progress.
and the health impacts of this
disease, and we are acutely • ustaining an appropriate
S
OVERVIEW OF OUR CORE PRODUCT SUPPLY CHAIN
aware that many of the workers corporate governance structure
in apparel and footwear supply • Upholding a declaration of
chains fall into this category. commitment from our suppliers
We’ve been working hard with our • Closely monitoring We aim to establish and shared duty to have a positive gives us excellent visibility of
suppliers to make sure that they performance against our maintain long-term commercial social and environmental impact. our first-tier factories, which
are providing secure employment supply chain code of conduct relationships with our partners, provides an effective platform for
for their workers and are aware • Monitoring risk beyond our based on mutual trust and shared We know that our business understanding and addressing
of the proper precautions to first-tier suppliers growth. We have been working is dependent on our working modern slavery and human
take to protect them. We’re also • Tracking and reporting on the with our top 20 suppliers for a relationships with our suppliers, trafficking concerns within
checking to ensure that protective issues that highlight risks of Liz Evans – CEO combined period of 240 years, especially in the current global the supply chain.
measures are in place via our or are symptomatic of Modern September 2021 with the average relationship climate. We always seek to work
on-site visits. It is because of our Slavery, and the remedial time being 12 years. We always with partners who understand
robust Responsible Sourcing action taken seek out partners who strive to and share our business values
programme that we are able to • Maintaining staff training meet our high quality and ethical and expectations. The strength
respond to the changes in our levels, with a focus on those requirements and recognise our of our supplier relationships
supply chains so quickly and procuring product
1 2MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT 2020 / 2021
OUR POLICIES IN RELATION TO We continue to deliver our robust conditions and freely chosen result of failure to engage with our
SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING Responsible Sourcing programme, employment. Most of the issues programme this year.
making sure that annual due that we have encountered through
diligence 3rd party audits are the assessment of these broader We recognise that human rights
We adopted our definition of Our primary goal is to achieve Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) in place1 for 81% of our first- human rights standards relate to abuses can exist within our non-
modern slavery from the UN transparency and trust between Base Code and the UN Guiding tier factories2 and undertaking management systems and policy product operations. In our last
Guiding Principles on Business us as buyers and our suppliers Principles on Business and more in-depth Verification development. It is likely that the risk assessment, we identified
and Human Rights, which state so that we can identify issues Human Rights, both of which Assessments, follow up and Root impact of COVID-19 will have recruitment and the utilisation
that ‘modern Slavery involves one and work together to resolve cover Modern Slavery issues. Cause Analysis visits at 19 key affected the focus of assessments; of contract labour as areas of
person depriving another of their them. This means that we will sites. We would normally expect we will continue to monitor the potential risk, and we have
liberty in order to exploit them for continue to buy from suppliers We have recently updated our to complete many more visits, findings from these sections in policies in place accordingly to
personal or commercial gain’. and factories that may have high FatFace Way of Life and will but our work has been hindered future audit reports and seek mitigate these risks.
risk issues, provided that they be issuing the new version to by the lockdowns and travel ways to improve reporting
We know that human rights remain committed to making suppliers and factories over the restrictions in place in many of where possible. In 2018 we joined the Better
abuses occur within global long term improvements. coming months. We have taken our sourcing locations throughout Buying Initiative to allow our
garment supply chains and, as into account changes in our own the year. Our aim is to focus As with previous years, our suppliers to anonymously assess
a responsible retailer, we have We continue to ensure that operations as well as the changing resources on completing more Responsible Sourcing programme our performance and share
a duty to identify and address suppliers are aware of and retail and sourcing landscape. Verification Assessments in the has identified occasional issues lessons for FatFace to improve our
these issues within our own sign our global supplier code We have included requirements coming financial year to revitalise that could be symptoms of buying behaviour. We believe that
supply chain. We work together of conduct, ‘The FatFace Way to share information about sub- this programme and continue to modern slavery, including charges this is the most powerful way for
with partners such as the Ethical of Life’ as a way of sharing our contractors and sub-suppliers support our partners to achieve for uniforms and late-payment us to improve working conditions
Trading Initiative and The values and expectations with within our regular reporting meaningful improvements in of wages and benefits. The late in factories, as we know that many
Re:Assurance Network, as well as our core product suppliers. The expectations, as well as specifically working conditions. Where we payment of wages and benefits of the issues that arise can be
other brands, to improve working expectations set out in our ‘Way prohibiting certain processes and have completed Verification are often related to hours worked caused by commercial pressures.
conditions and reduce the risk to of Life’ are based on universally products from high risk regions Assessments, we have also just before national or regional We have now undergone 3
our business of modern slavery recognised labour standards or countries. analysed the COVID-19 response lockdowns, so compliance surveys, 2 of which took place
occurring in our supply chain. including those outlined in the of these facilities, making sure with local law is the goal for during the pandemic. The most
that proper safety measures are in improvements. Where we find recent report from this survey
place and assessing the factories’ such issues, we continue to continued to show areas of
ASSESSING RISKS AND DELIVERING IMPROVEMENTS
compliance with our expectations engage with suppliers to ensure positive behaviour, including
on wages payments during that they are resolved as soon the ‘Win-Win Sustainable
lockdown periods. as possible, and in most cases Partnership’. However, our
Our risk assessments show risks in our second tier as well. requesting sub-contractor and we continue to work with the performance remains challenging
that our greatest risk of human Having mapped our core product sub-supplier information from Our preferred 3rd party factories involved to try to address in areas such as ‘Sourcing and
rights abuses exists in our core supply chain against country our manufacturing partners assessment standard (Sedex the root causes of the issues we Order Placement’ and ‘Payment
product supply chain. Apparel specific risks highlighted by the and comparing this to data Members Ethical Trade Audit encounter. On the rare occasions and Terms’. We are committed to
and accessories supply chains Global Slavery Index, we know that we already held from our (SMETA)) specifically includes that our supplier sites refuse to reviewing our order management
are long and complex, with a that India, China, Cambodia Responsible Sourcing programme. standards on human rights issues engage in the process of resolving and purchasing practices
large number of different actors and Pakistan are the sourcing The mapping and risk assessment such as land use, community serious labour rights or human to ensure that we can make
involved between the production countries with the highest risk activities helped us to identify engagement and management rights abuses, we will terminate improvements to our suppliers’
of raw materials through to the of modern slavery occurring in 3 ‘priority supply chains’ in 2 systems activity, alongside existing our business relationship with experience of working with us.
product arriving in our stores. our supply chain. These countries sourcing countries, with more human and labour rights issues them. We did not have any cases We’ll include our progress in this
The majority of these actors sit also form 4 of our top 5 sourcing to follow as we complete the such as living wages, working of factories that were exited as a area in our next Statement.
outside of our direct sphere of locations, with Turkey being the process. We have commissioned
influence, particularly from the 5th. We therefore chose these 5 our supply chain partners The
second tier of our supply chain countries to undertake a human Re:Assurance Network to complete
downward. We continue to rights risk assessment, helping a programme of assessments in 1
Total number of due diligence audits in place in last reported update to SMT – May 2021. This is not the total number of assessments
focus our efforts on our first tier us to identify sector and country the 2nd tier units of our priority
undertaken in the reporting year.
supplier sites, but have recently level human rights risks. We also supply chains, the findings of 2
81% is lower than we have reported in previous statements – this is due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our global supply,
commissioned a programme of completed a mapping exercise of which will form part of our next where sites were closed and not able to undertake their usual annual assessment. The total % of site with a valid audit has increased in
work to assess modern slavery our deeper product supply chain, Modern Slavery Statement. the early part of the current financial year.
3 4MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT 2020 / 2021
HOW WE REPORT ON MODERN SLAVERY RISKS TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
WE ANALYSE HUMAN them on the human rights risk
assessment and supply chain
requirements. We are also
exploring an NGO partnership
All members of the Design, Buying
and Merchandising (DBM) teams
has been delayed due to the
impact of COVID-19 on our
We’ll also be undertaking training
on purchasing practices in light
RIGHTS ABUSES AND mapping activity, which helped to critique our programme and participate in training that outlines business, with many members of the findings of the 2021 Better
to secure additional funding for approach, initially focusing on the principles of our code of of staff being on furlough for Buying survey results. This will
NON-COMPLIANCE us to complete the proposed the supply chain mapping and conduct, and the implications that portions of the financial year. help us to implement any changes
AGAINST OUR CODE OF assessment programme.
The primary source of external
human rights risk assessments
that we’re undertaking in our
human rights abuses can have
upon our supply chain and the
We’re committed to increasing
the training participation of our
to the product development and
buying process, which we hope will
CONDUCT THROUGH THE oversight for our programme is 2nd tier. We’ll report further on people in it. We hold an induction commercial colleagues in the positively impact on the experience
IMPLEMENTATION OF through our membership of the
Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).
the progress of this potential
partnership in future Statements.
for all new DBM team members to
introduce them to the team and
coming months and utilising
e-learning modules to roll out
of our suppliers.
FATFACE’S RESPONSIBLE In the past we have reported brief them on our work. training to colleagues in other
SOURCING PROGRAMME. annually against the ETI’s
principles of implementation,
We will also be publishing our first
Environment & Social Governance
Our planned training programme business functions as well.
as well as submitting detailed Impact Report in the 2021/2022
We report to our commercial progress reports against our financial year, which will give
leadership team every 2 months, objectives. The ETI has changed a much more detailed view of
as well as reporting to the Group its reporting requirements to our activity across our whole
Board through the annual Audit require members to report Sustainability strategy, including our
Committee. Our most recent publicly on their activity, which Responsible Sourcing programme
presentation to the Board updated we will do in line with their and modern slavery risks.
5 6FatFace, Unit 1 Ridgway, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 1QJ 023 9244 1100, fatface.com
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