CSR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

VALUES AND CSR

Cheap Monday was started in 2004. We wanted to sell really good-looking jeans at really great prices in our Weekday shops, which we had opened two years earlier with a mix of second-hand and fashion garments. Cheap Monday jeans have a special fit which makes them tight. Today, Cheap Monday also includes tops, sweaters, shirts and trousers.

Apart from sales from Weekday shops, Cheap Monday is available at selected third-party stores in Sweden and overseas.

We started our business in a simple way with deep values, which we weren’t always consciously aware of. These values were a part of who we were, and they guided our actions. Our values are about being daring, taking initiative and choosing our own path. But we also value the strength of partnerships and co-operation. We push our boundaries and want to continue to develop. Some would say we’re a bit rebellious. At the same time we want to play fair and be humble. We care about the people involved and the environment, and how the clothes are manufactured. We approach business with humanity.

Our values – our belief in people and the environment – mean a lot to us.

HUMANISM

For us, humanism is about being open and seeing people as of equal value, with respect for human rights and an appreciation of diversity. We are open for co-operation with others. In fact, we jump on new ideas and believe it’s important that everyone has access to development, improved quality of life and social and human rights. An important part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work is to ensure decent working standards and conditions for the employees of our suppliers.

ENVIRONMENT

As part of the textile and fashion industry, we strive for a broad environmental and ethical approach to business. We are aware of how chemicals are used, both in the growing of cotton and the production. We understand the burden this places on the environment and on farmers and workers. It’s also important to our customers that our products are free of harmful chemicals. We don’t sell furs or feather down, and in cases where animal cruelty is part of the production of Merino wool, we won’t sell it.

Long-term, our aim is that respect for the environment should run through our whole business. Our requirements regarding the use of chemicals go further than statutory codes, and gradually we are introducing materials and processes that are more environmentally friendly.

We strive to reach a high standard in our work with CSR in order to make products for fashion-conscious people in a way which is ethically and environmentally sustainable. Cheap Monday's goal is that 11% of the cotton we use in our collections should be organic by the end of 2011.

ORGANISATION

We have a CSR Manager who works exclusively with questions of working conditions and workplace environment. Care for the environment, chemicals and product safety are also part of this work. We partner with other organisations within CSR in order to share our experience and improve conditions and the environment. The whole process is carefully audited by specialists who report to our CSR Manager.

Our working methods are based on concrete and clear action plans and goals. We take a methodical approach to improving our work with CSR. We train our purchasing and shop staff and keep them up to date and engaged in our CSR work.

Contact Irene Häglund, CSR Manager, by email on csr@cheapmonday.se

HUMANISM

SUPPLIERS AND OUR CODE OF CONDUCT

We have had a Code of Conduct since 2006 which requires suppliers to follow the law and to respect fundamental human rights, good working conditions and a good working environment.

Cheap Monday has suppliers in China, the Baltics and other parts of Europe. We have long-term goals for our work with suppliers and pursue these in a spirit of co-operation. In our opinion, that’s how real improvements are made. Today we have about 30 suppliers. We share with them our views and values and provide them with skills and tools to improve working conditions and the environment.

GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS AND FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION

In the end of 2007, we decided to join the Amsterdam-based organisation Fair Wear Foundation (FWF). FWF works with companies in the textile and fashion industry to create good and fair working conditions in clothing factories. For Cheap Monday this means that we work step by step to ensure that our production sites live up to a Code of Labour Practices which all FWF members have signed. FWF verifies that Cheap Monday works towards this goal effectively, checking that real improvement is made. After three years, the improvement process will be under way in nearly all of the factories Cheap Monday sources from.

FWF is an initiative supported by a range of stakeholders, including trade associations within the textile sector, trade unions and voluntary organisations such as the Clean Clothes Campaign. Through the broad membership of the group, we believe that we can work successively towards finding solutions to problems like excessive overtime and spread the right to freedom of association.

FWF partners with local organisations in production countries that monitor human rights and the environment and visit members’ factories to check on progress. We believe this work leads to real improvements.

FWF’s code is based on the International Labour Organisation’s conventions and involves respect for human rights, including the following.

• No child labour
• No forced, bonded or prison labour
• No discrimination
• No excessive working hours
• Payment of at least the minimum wage (a wage someone can live on)
• Safe and healthy working conditions
• A legally binding employment contract
• Freedom of association
• The code also includes limits and auditing of certain chemicals.

HOW WE WORK

SUPPLIER AUDITS

Through our partnership with Fair Wear Foundation we have access to tools and a systematic approach towards improving conditions for people working in the manufacture of clothing. We follow a plan for auditing our suppliers. In 2009, we will be conducting supplier audits covering 60% of our production. We prioritise suppliers where we believe the needs are greatest and there is the greatest potential to improve.

A team of auditors carries out inspections on-site in the factories where our clothes are made. They are trained by FWF and are fully experienced in auditing compliance by suppliers with the Code of Conduct. During their visits they use a checklist, interviews are carried out with the company management and employees, and documentation is checked. They also carry out off-site interviews with staff before the visit to the factory so that they can focus on areas where improvements can be made and so that interviewees are able to speak freely. After the visit, a report is written by the auditing team with recommendations for improvements and there is follow-up to ensure such improvements are made.

A supplier who cannot fulfil the basic requirements of our Code of Conduct must agree to carry out improvements in order to remain a supplier to Cheap Monday. We also require suppliers to disclose any subcontractors that may be used in the production of Cheap Monday products so that we always know where our clothes are being made.

An open dialogue based on trust is important in this work. FWF makes visits to a random selection of about 10% of the suppliers to verify Cheap Monday’s efforts. FWF also carries out studies, highlights improvements and co-operates with local organisations and trades unions who have day to day experience of the general conditions at suppliers of clothes and textiles.

We believe that this combination of information, training and inspection on-site is a good way to address problems and thereby improve conditions. Information on the Code of Conduct has been distributed to our suppliers and we are working to improve awareness of the code in different ways.

We also believe that as a buyer we have a responsibility to plan our purchases and collections in a way that makes it easier for suppliers to plan production so as to minimise overtime – something which is a common problem for clothing industry suppliers.

We have also trained our office and shop staff in CSR. We are aware that it is difficult to take control of all parts of the production process through to finished item, so we set requirements that will lead to progress over time. We recognise that improvement can occur in a range of areas over time, for example, within the reporting and accounting of overtime, or within the workers’ environment or general welfare.

Read more about the Fair Wear Foundation… http://www.fairwear.org/

Read more about our goals & achievements… Social Report 2009 (PDF)

PARTNERSHIP

In order to meet today’s global challenges, there’s a need for partnerships between people, companies and organisations to find solutions to the problems in society and the environment.

We believe in engagement and partnership on a global and local level and we work with a range of stakeholders to create better conditions within the textile sector. It’s here we have the greatest opportunity to make improvements and to work for ethical and environmentally friendly production.

We continually encounter new challenges that place demands on us to act as a company. The textile industry uses a lot of water during colouring and washing. A challenge is to see that the production of clothes doesn’t worsen access to clean water for people living near the areas where clothes are made. We are considering how we can participate, for example, in projects to reduce water consumption.

We also show our social engagement by supporting and partnering with other organisations:

Cheap Monday is a member of NICE (Nordic Initiative Clean and Ethical). NICE is an initiative which supports fashion companies in their work with ethical, environmental and social responsibility. The focus here is on the production process. The goal of NICE is that the member companies should be in the leading edge of sustainable fashion.

Cheap Monday is a member of the Chemical Group, a local project group which exchanges current information on chemicals and environmentally related questions to the member companies. The group lends support and develops tools to make information on legal requirements and other activities within the chemical industry clear and accessible.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

A number of initiatives provide guidelines for companies that are taking a wider responsibility for their operations. Cheap Monday fully supports a range of international standards and guidelines within environment and human rights, including the following:

THE UN DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” So begins article 1 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights from 1948. In 2008, the declaration had its 50th anniversary. The United Nations adopted the declaration after the Second World War. It consists of 30 articles, a sense of which is given in the following examples.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and everyone has the right to education.

Read more about the declaration… http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

ILO’S CORE CONVENTIONS

The UN organisation, ILO (International Labour Organisation), is charged with promoting good working conditions for all workers in the world. ILO’s core conventions from 1998 are:

• Freedom of association, freedom to organise and the recognition of the right to collective bargaining
• Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour
• Effective abolition of child labour
• Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

The declaration is binding for all ILO members. Even for countries that have not ratified subsidiary conventions.

Read more about the conventions… http://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm

THE UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL
– HALVING POVERTY BY 2015

To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, give children the right to education, increased gender equality, improved health and environment and stop the spread of HIV/aids, malaria and other sicknesses. These goals, together with sustainable development, are part of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, which the world’s leaders committed to in 2000 in order to halve poverty by 2015. Partnerships and co-operation between companies, organisations and other actors are important to support these goals in developing nations.

The goals show clearly how companies can act locally in order to take social and environmental responsibility, which promotes and strengthens both companies and regions.

Read more about the goals… http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

ABOUT THE SWEDISH CHEMICALS AGENCY AND REACH

The EU Chemicals Directive, REACH, entered into force on 1 June 2007. REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances within the EU and on import into the EU. The Swedish Chemicals Agency is responsible for chemical safety and it works for a chemical-free environment. Because chemical regulations are harmonised within the EU, a lot of the agency’s work takes place within a European framework.

Read more about REACH…: http://www.kemi.se/default____550.aspx

ENVIRONMENT

PRODUCTS

All our clothes and products must live up to high standards of quality and safety. These are our guidelines at the design stage and throughout the production process. We work in a number of ways to ensure that customers can rely on our products’ quality and safety. We fulfil the relevant environmental laws and set a variety of requirements to see that products are free from toxins. We carry out preventative inspections at our suppliers to avoid the use of inappropriate materials.

Random inspections at suppliers and a variety of tests on our clothing products before the products reach the shop are a part of our production process. That includes everything from shrinkage tests, to tests of colourfastness and advanced chemical analyses.

Cheap Monday’s product policy means that we:

• Do not use PVC
• Do not use Mulesed Marino Wool
• Only use skins from stocks reared for meat production
• Do not use furs or down due to animal rearing concerns

In addition, we have strict chemicals requirements which mean that we do not use chemicals which could be harmful for the environment or health. The substances which must not be used, or which shall be limited, are included in a long list which is continuously updated according to current guidance or legal requirements. We adhere to European norms and standards, but also to regulations governing product safety in the USA, Canada and Japan and Australia.

Some examples are:

• Heavy metals, including cadmium, lead and mercury
• Formaldehyde, antibacterial substances, nonylphenol ethoxylates and some AZO-dyes
• Dyes that cause allergies
• Nickel

ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE

Caring for the environment requires a broad view of the issues. As well as keeping a careful eye on the products and the production chain, we’re gradually expanding our environmental goals to encompass the whole business. We choose freight methods that lead to the least carbon dioxide emissions. We dispatch clothes by ship, and when we travel on business we choose an environmental option rather than flying when we can. Other issues we prioritise include finding ways to use natural resources more effectively, increase recycling and improving energy efficiency in our offices and shops.

Our products are covered by workplace law and the EU's REACH laws on chemicals, as well as other country's product safety regulations in, for example, the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia.

Cheap Monday carries out regular unannounced audits and tests products covered by legal limits. But we go further too, and test for other substances not covered by law, but which we choose to exclude or limit in the products we sell.

Contact Irene Häglund, CSR Manager, csr@cheapmonday.se