Our business is built on strong ethical values. We are committed to ethical, transparent, and sustainable practices guided by our Responsible Sustainable Partner Strategy and robust environmental, social, and governance principles.
At the heart of SMI's ethos lies our core principles, values, and objectives, forming the bedrock of a culture of safety, learning, development, empowerment, and responsibility.
Each stakeholder, be it employees, suppliers, or customers, plays a crucial role in supporting our ongoing journey.
We remain committed to educating, implementing, and refining our ESG 2030 strategy and business approach, ensuring alignment with the directives of our CEO, Board of Directors, and Senior Leadership team.
Upholding laws and regulations is non-negotiable, with a commitment to surpassing governmental standards. We conduct regular risk assessments and audit programs while securing ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 certifications.
Our focus extends to environmental policies, health and safety measures, combating modern slavery and child labour, promoting equality, and embracing diversity. Collaboration with employees, suppliers, customers, third-party auditors, and communities is pivotal in upholding compliance with laws and regulations.
Strengthening internal and external communication channels remains a top priority for SMI. Our primary objective is to enhance transparency across all stakeholders, offering insights into our operations and guiding principles through avenues such as ESG reports, face-to-face interactions, social media, and digital platforms.
All policies, environmental reports, and sustainable assessments are readily accessible to ensure transparency.
Our internal auditing team diligently evaluates every facet of our business to ensure adherence to our code of ethics and baseline compliance.
The SMI Directory, a centralised platform housing our procedures, policies, and certificates, is overseen by the SMI Policy Committee and Head of ESG. This team ensures regular updates and dissemination of information across internal departments.
Collaboration with The Reassurance Network Group serves to bridge the gap between SMI and our factories responsible for producing our exclusive brand, ROKWEAR®, encompassing garments, footwear, and gloves.
The Reassurance Network (TRN) was founded in 2003 by Malcolm Guy, a key figure in the ethical trade movement at The Body Shop. For over 20 years, TRN has provided tailored supply chain auditing services to clients across various industries.
With operations in over 40 countries, TRN’s auditing teams bring local expertise and an in-depth understanding of regional working cultures, enabling strong relationships with manufacturing partners. TRN’s core mission is to enhance supply chain performance while ensuring compliance with industry regulations and standards.
In 2023, as part of our commitment to strengthening our governance pillar and ensuring due diligence, SMI began partnering with TRN.
SMI’s due diligence process includes additional methods to the two pillar audits we carry out on the manufacturing sites for our own brand ROKWEAR® with SMI’s self- assessments to ensure we can enhance operational efficiency and ensure full transparency across our supply chain.
We have implemented a comprehensive self-assessment which allows SMI to evaluate supplier performance, helping us identify; inefficiencies, manage risks, strengthen supplier relationships, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and our sustainability targets. Ultimately boosting stakeholder confidence and strengthening our value chain as we ensure all our business partners are aligned to our ESG and RSPS objectives and standards.
Our Responsible Partner and Sustainable Self-Assessment evaluates critical areas, allowing us a holistic view of our business partners operations, commitment to sustainability and alignment with ethical practices.
Our key pillars are as follows:
As part of our ethical compliance standards, all factories undergo a two-pillar audit. The focus is on two key areas:
This includes reviewing employee working hours, wages, and ensuring compliance with national and international labour laws, as well as preventing child and forced labour.
This pillar assesses workplace safety, emergency preparedness, and access to healthcare for employees.
We believe in building meaningful and collaborative relationships within our supply chain. After each audit, both the audit report and corrective action plans are shared with the supplier. Risks identified are classified into three categories - Critical, Major, or Minor - with specific timeframes for resolution based on the level of risk and impact.
By working closely with our partners, we ensure that these audits are not just about compliance but about fostering continuous improvement in ethical standards across our supply chain
ETHICAL PRACTICES
SMI’s direct focus on developing a deeper understanding of our business and supply chain can be demonstrated through our governance framework. Our commitment towards operating in an ethical and transparent manner can be showcased in our Modern Slavery Statement and Child Labour policy.
We employ dedicated staff to manage these areas to ensure our “set goals” for compliance to these standards/accreditations are carried out and maintained throughout the organisation.
ESG DIGEST
Get insight on how transparency and traceability are reshaping ESG practices in our ESG Digest episode 3.
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