OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
Our Supply Chain
We have chosen each of our suppliers to match RevolutionRace and our values. Several of them have worked with us since the very beginning. It has always been our ambition to keep our supply chain simple and transparent to ensure equality and responsibility. In 2020/21 we worked with 25 manufacturers. 50% of our fabrics came from 3 fabric mills. This means we know all of our main suppliers on a very personal level.
• 96% of suppliers have signed our Code of Conduct • 88% of suppliers with valid and acceptable social audit • No suppliers with known breaches of RVRC chemical guidelines • Suppliers covering 80% of our volume participating in environmental responsibility analysis (2021) • 88% of suppliers with documented compliance with environmental regulation • Environmental policy for all suppliers
A Transparent and Responsible Supply Chain
We strive to improve the social and environmental responsibility in our supply chain with clear principles, transparency, and cooperative follow-up mechanisms.
Social Responsibility
Human rights and social responsibility are our first priority. Our code of conduct has been signed by all our suppliers. It is based on the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights defining core principles like fair remuneration, decent working hours, no forced labour or child labour We are a member of Amfori the leading global business association for open and sustainable trade. Under the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) Amfori facilitates independent audits of the social compliance of factories.
| Our Code of Conduct | |
|---|---|
| Freedom of association & right to collective bargaining | Workers shall have the right to form unions in a free and democratic way and to bargain collectively |
| No discrimination | No workers irrespective of gender, race, religion, or any other characteristic shall be treated differently than others |
| Fair remuneration | Workers shall receive wages sufficient to provide a decent living for themselves and their families – Minimum mandatory minimum wages |
| Decent working hours | Working hours shall adhere to laws and ILO agreements to a maximum of 48 hours per week. Overtime should be an exception |
| Occupational health and safety | The work environment shall comply with health and safety regulations |
| No child labour | No children shall be employed under the legal school age or less than 15 years old |
| Special protection for young workers | Younger workers shall be protected, especially against health, safety, and morality |
| No precarious employment | Workers shall have written contracts complying with national legislation |
| No bonded labour | No worker shall work unfreely or against his/her own will |
| Protection of the environment | Environmental degradation shall be avoided |
| Ethical business behavior | No corruption shall take place |
BSCI Audits
The BSCI audit is evaluating our suppliers on their compliance with our principles as defined in our Code of Conduct: Are workers allowed to organize? Are they paid fairly? Do they have written contracts? Do they have an acceptable amount of overtime? 22 of our 25 suppliers have a recent and valid BSCI audit. They covered 96% of our volume. 19% had a b-rating. 91% had a c-rating. A c-rating is still acceptable, but it has room for improvement. In all cases, the main problem was working hours and overtime. We do everything we can to avoid this problem and place our orders outside of peak season. From 2023 we will only work with suppliers that are BSCI audited.
The Complex Supply Chain in Apparel Production
A key sustainability challenge for apparel companies is the very complex supply chain:
Different products are manufactured in distinct factories often throughout the world. These manufacturing companies are buying fabrics and components like zippers and knobs from many different fabric mills and component suppliers. The fabric mills are buying yarn from different yarn mills, which are sourcing their fibers from different fiber producers. The more complex this supply chain is, the more difficult it is for brands to achieve transparency and ultimately hold their supply chain partners accountable for social and environmental conduct. That is why transparency, traceability, certifications, and audits have become increasingly important. Brands buy a certified product or from a certified or audited factory to guarantee that it has lived up to defined criteria.
Supply chain process
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Fabrics
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Yarns
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Fabrics
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Garments
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Brand
Consumer use
End of life
Traceability
On our bestselling Nordwand and RVRC GP products, we want full traceability. We know the garment manufacturers, the fabric mills, and the trims suppliers well. By using the Higg FEM Index we will get to know them even better. And from the fabric mills, we will track our products further to the yarn spinning mills and the fiber producers. We look forward to sharing with our customers the true origins of their products.
