Code of Conduct

…continuation from CSR

Our Code of Conduct states the conditions that should be applicable to our company’s production and purchase cycle and it is a part of our contract with all our suppliers. Based on human rights and ILO conventions, our Code of Conduct encompasses our suppliers and its implementation.

We wrote our first Code of Conduct in 2000. In 2008 we became a member of the Fair Wear Foundation and drew up a working plan, approved by FWF, for our work environment activities.

At Filippa K we believe that only by maintaining a presence and conducting a high-quality dialogue with our suppliers can we create change – inspections alone are never enough.

Our Code of Conduct follows FWF’s code of labour practise and includes requirements concerning:

Employment is freely chosen
There shall be no use of forced, including bonded or prison, labour (ILO Conventions 29 and 105). Nor shall workers be required to lodge ”deposits” or their identity papers with their employer.

There is no discrimination in employment
Equality of opportunity and treatment regardless of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, nationality, social origin or other distinguishing characteristics shall be provided (ILO conventions 100 and 111).

Child labour is not used
There shall be no use of child labour. Only workers above the age of 15 years or above the compulsory school-leaving age shall be engaged (ILO Convention 138). Adequate transitional economic assistance and appropriate educational opportunities shall be provided to any replaced child workers

Freedom of association
The right of all workers to form and join trade unions and to bargain collectively shall be recognised (ILO Conventions 87 and 98). Workers’ representatives shall not be the subject of discrimination and shall have access to all workplaces necessary to enable them to carry out their representation functions (ILO Convention 135 and Recommendation 143). Employers shall adopt a positive approach towards the activities of trade unions and an open attitude towards their organisational activities. Workers shall have the option of whether or not to join the union.

Living wages are paid
Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week shall meet at least legal or industry minimum standards and always be sufficient to meet basic needs of workers and their families and to provide some discretionary income. Deductions from wages for disciplinary measures shall not be permitted nor shall any deductions from wages not provided for by national law be permitted without the expressed permission of the worker concerned. All workers shall be provided with written and understandable information about the conditions in respect of wages before they enter employment and of the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.

Hours of work are not excessive
Hours of work shall comply with applicable laws and industry standards. Working hours should be scheduled to provide ample time for rest, meals and sleep. In any event, workers shall not on a regular basis be required to work in excess of 48 hours per week and shall be provided with at least one day off for every 7 day period. Overtime shall be voluntary, shall not exceed 12 hours per week, or 240 hours per year, shall not be demanded on a regular basis and shall always be compensated at a premium rate.

Working conditions are decent
A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided, and best occupational health and safety practice shall be promoted, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards. The working environment should be suitable considering light, noise, climate and ventilation. Working conditions shall not lead to any short- or long-term physical or psychological injury. Physical abuse, threats of physical abuse, unusual punishments or discipline, sexual and other harassment, and intimidation by the employer is strictly prohibited. Penalties in the form of deduction from wages or overtime without compensation is not acceptable.

The employment relationship is established
Obligations to employees under labour or social security laws and regulations arising from the regular employment relationship shall not be avoided through the use of labour-only contracting arrangements, or through apprenticeship schemes where there is no real intent to impart skills or provide regular employment. Younger workers shall be given the opportunity to participate in education and training programmes.

These standards are based on the Convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All the above mentioned ILO Conventions can be found on www.ilo.org

Members of FWF are required to monitor labour conditions in their garment suppliers’ factories as well as ensuring that manufacturers carry out agreed improvements.

FWF’s task is to verify whether these have resulted in acceptable working conditions.

Over the next three years we will be monitoring all our suppliers’ compliance with this code. Our goal for 2008 is to carry out five supplier inspections.

Suppliers

A large percentage of Filippa K’s suppliers are located in Europe and a few in China.

Long-term relationships with suppliers
We have built up long-term relationships with many of our suppliers, and have worked closely with many of them for over a decade. We visit them several times a year, enabling us to forge close links with them. We believe that maintaining a presence and conducting a high quality dialogue helps our suppliers understand and live up to the requirements of our code of conduct.

Checking compliance
During the spring of 2007 we carried out, through the offices of Sustania World AB, two independent inspections of two Chinese factories. The auditors interviewed the company management and employees, inspected all factory premises and checked payroll reports and time cards documentation. Everything was by and large in order, but we still see some challenges ahead of us. One was the significant amount of working hours that exceeded the requirements of the code. This is problematic and hard to change based as it is on cultural differences. After a lengthy dialogue with these suppliers, we were able to persuade one of them to try and shorten working hours during the spring. This resulted in a very successful outcome and the decision was made to continue along this path.

Reporting inspection results
Subsequent to each audit we collate the results in a report, specifying the areas where improvements are needed. Filippa K and the relevant supplier then agree on a date by which these improvements must be made and this is then followed up. As long as a supplier is willing to continue to make step-by-step improvements could we continue our collaboration.

Environment

The textile industry is by its very nature complex, embracing chemical, water and energy use processes that impact the environment. Although we have improved in some areas, we still have a long way to go. Therefore, in 2006, we decided to create a more structured environmental work process within the company before approaching our suppliers.

Filippa K’s vision has always been to produce products of which we can be proud. We have long-term relationships not only with our suppliers, but with our customers and partners. The purchasing department works with environmental, chemical and work environment issues on a daily basis. We are aided in our work by our code of conduct and our environmental policy, as well as their associated strategies.

We are keen to take the advice of organisations and consultants who are experts in their respective fields. Last year, for example, Sustania World AB helped us inspect two of the factories with which we work in China, and we developed our environmental policy and environmental strategy with the assistance of The Natural Step.

All of our offices, for example, use green energy: We have replaced all of our company cars with eco-friendly vehicles and bought bicycles for use within Stockholm. Recycling and economical usage of office supplies is a matter of course for us.

We offer our employees ecological products, such as milk, fruit, bread and more besides. We have a sustainability policy and an environmental strategy for all departments within Filippa K.

We have increased the percentage of organic cotton garments included in our collections in recent seasons. The availability of organic cotton is limited, however, so we are also trying to identify alternatives to cotton.
The material we prefer the most is Lyocell/Tencel. The raw material for this material is wood, which is converted into cellulose and then fibres in an environmentally closed process that reuses water and chemicals many times over.

We also use flax and recycled wool, and are looking at new alternatives, such as hemp, bamboo, and recycled polyester.

Our present goal is for 10% of the styles in any of our collections to be made from an eco-friendly material.

Finishing and dyeing the material uses a lot of chemicals, water and energy. We have a list of chemicals that absolutely may not be used in our production processes and of chemicals that may be used in limited amounts. We monitor compliance through random sampling.

There is still a lot to be done with regard to the finishing and dyeing process, and in order to learn more, we have initiated a partnership with Nordic Eco Label, the Swan organisation, and begun by eco-labelling some of our products. The Nordic Swan is helping us to check that all of the chemicals used in the production of the Swan-labelled garments comply with its stringent requirements and to avoid the use of excessive amounts of energy and water. At the same time, we are also learning more about the sort of demands we should be imposing on all of our production processes.

We know that there is still a lot to do, so we are maintaining a dialogue with independent consultants and interest organisations that are helping us to draw up a long-term plan for our environmental guidelines.

Above all, Filippa K stands for high quality clothing and timeless fashion. Our clothes can be used from one generation to another – in a word – sustainability that from an environmental viewpoint points the way to a brighter and greener future.