Bestseller, the company behind Jack & Jones, Only, Vero Moda etc., has come up with its Sustainability Report 2019, which highlights the initiatives taken by the company in the first year of its Fashion FWD strategy.
Apparel Resources explored the report from the perspective of company’s suppliers and found interesting developments of 2019 and future plans, some of which are given below.
Working with Life and Building Safety (LABS), Bestseller has helped improve the working conditions of apparel workers – especially in India – by addressing risks related to fire and electrical hazards, structural building safety and by providing proper safety training for workers.
Since 2015, the company has been engaged with five factories and 16,834 workers in its social dialogue Programme in Bangladesh. By 2021, the company will achieve 100 per cent remediation and safety training under the Bangladesh Accord.
By 2025, the retail chain will support 100,000 women in Tier-1 factories to achieve workplace empowerment and improved life skills. In the same time frame, it will support all Tier-1 factories in implementing digital payment of wages.
By the end of 2019, Bestseller’s work with HERproject™ had reached more than 38,363 women in Bestseller’s supply chain across Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
Notably, the company has intensified its partnership with BSR to become a catalyst member and a long-term partner of HERproject™, further accelerating its goal of supporting 100,000 women in Tier-1 factories.
It has started a new partnership with BHive and piloted their chemical management tool with 18 facilities in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Turkey. By 2025, the company will have 100 per cent approved and traceable chemicals in all its core products.
What else! In 2019, it had initiated a pilot with QuizRR and factories in Bangladesh and China. The pilot will continue and be evaluated during 2020. QuizRR is a growing global organisation providing digital training solutions for the education of workers and mid-level managers in various labour-related subjects.
Last year (2019) was an activity-filled year for the company, which also included it becoming a signatory of the G7 Fashion Pact – an industry-wide movement focusing on climate, biodiversity and oceans, with the aim of aligning the fashion industry with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
