JACK WOLFSKIN PUBLISHES FIRST SOCIAL REPORT - SUPPLIER
One year after joining the "Fair Wear Foundation", July 2011 sees Jack Wolfskin publish its first comprehensive SUPPLIERS SOCIAL REPORT. This represents another step towards a complete and transparent account of the company's commitment to labour standards and supply chain responsibility.
Out of Christian Brandt's (CFO Jack Wolfskin) preface:
"We have been working to improve the impact of our activities for many years. We divide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into two main areas: Nature and the environment and social responsibility. We also involve our employees and vendors in our corporate social responsibilty mechanisms.
Our membership in the "Fair Wear Foundation" (FWF) represents an important milestone in this respect. The FWF is a not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to promote and improve humane labour conditions along the entire value chain of the textiles industry. It works closely with a growing number of companies and vendors and supports them by providing a platform to exchange expert knowledge, promoting dialogues and offering an improvement-orientated approach.
Against this backdrop, I am delighted that we are able to disclose our efforts and activities in a detailed report for the first time ever. We set our sights high for 2010 – and we have come a long way. In 2009, 98 percent of JACK WOLFSKIN’s vendors were audited. In 2010, we raised the bar again and nearly reached our target of having 100 percent of our vendors audited. Moreover, 44 percent of our vendors have demonstrated improvements since their first audit. This is a direct result of the systematic increase in the number of audits and follow-up visits.
At vendors where standards had deteriorated, immediate measures were taken. Where no improvements were made, we terminated our cooperation with the vendor in question. We are committed to conducting this auditing process according to sound judgment, mutual respect and a shared sense of responsibility to ensure that improvements continue to be made.
This is by no means an easy task. However, we have always viewed it as one of our core responsibilities and we will continue to implement it consistently in the future.
Christian Brandt, May 2011"