LPP is tightening control over the working conditions in Asian factories
LPP, the owner of Reserved, House, Cropp, Mohito and Sinsay brands, summarises the measures taken so far with a view to improving the conditions of clothing production in Asia. At the same time, along with SGS, an international auditor, LPP is preparing ground for cooperation aimed at verifying the compliance of particular suppliers of LPP in Bangladesh with the provisions of the LPP Code of Conduct.
The responsibility that rests with our industry, as well as expectations of the consumers voiced in respect of businesses outsourcing their production are continuously rising. Also, each year sees an increase in the number of consumers who want to be sure that the clothes they wear are created in safe conditions and the rights of the people who sew them are respected – says Anna Miazga, CSR Coordinator at LPP. We decided to establish cooperation with SGS to be certain that the factories where our orders are processed comply with the principles we value the most.
Since 2013 LPP has been taking various measures which have exerted a real impact on the improvement of safety and production conditions. These measures are centred primarily on the suppliers from Bangladesh, because this country poses the most challenges and the clothing industry there marks a rapid growth. Over the last 4 years LPP has created structures responsible for supply chain control and the Code of Conduct for foreign suppliers has been implemented. Apart from the factories in Bangladesh LPP auditors visited production plants in: Turkey, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, as well as India and China. LPP capital expenditures for this purpose amount to nearly PLN 16 million.
Since 2013 LPP has been an active member of ACCORD (The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety). Under the auspices of ACCORD nearly 80 factories previously or currently entrusted with production by LPP have been subject to audits, including 30 operators for whom LPP is the key ordering party. Corrective action plans have been undertaken in nearly all the factories, with ¾ of changes already implemented. This result is comparable to the average for all the factories subject to ACCORD audits.
Owing to the joint efforts of ACCORD and LPP, electrical installations in over 90% of factories have been replaced or modernised, which, in turn, made it possible to eradicate potential threats and meet the required standards. Also, in about 75% of factories the required fire protection systems have been installed. Furthermore, the audits in nearly 60% of factories led to the building structure reinforcement – that figure is lower due to the fact that some of the factory owners decided to move the production to safe buildings instead of eliminating the threats identified in the previously used ones.
So far, we have been focusing first and foremost on implementing changes where they are most urgently needed, as well as on gaining experience and working out our standards in relation to our suppliers. We will continue these activities, but our efforts will not stop there. We acknowledge certain important milestones ahead of us – such as adopting our CSR strategy in the coming months and preparing our non-financial annual report. The former document will standardise all our actions in terms of corporate responsibility, set priorities and key goals. The latter one, publicly available, will gather information on the functioning of the company and the challenges which we will face in the area of CSR in the years to come – adds Anna Miazga.
Control over the LPP supply chain – key actions:
2013:
- LPP joins ACCORD (The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety) – active and permanent membership
- Voluntary donation for the benefit of the victims and families of the victims of the Rana Plaza incident in Bangladesh
2014 – 2016:
- Development, publication and implementation of the Code of Conduct
- Establishment of the LPP Audit Department
- Establishment of the Corporate Communication and Sustainable Development Department
- Launching the LPP office in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. (its tasks include, among others, auditing factories)
2017:
- Cooperation with SGS – assessment of the risk of infringement of the Code of Conduct in Bangladesh
- Completion of a series of dialogue-based activities (surveys, interviews, panel) preceding the adoption of the CSR strategy
- Adoption of the CSR strategy by the Management Board of LPP
from 2018:
- Reporting non-financial data according to international standards, namely GRI Standards
Contact for the media:
Marta Chlewicka
LPP Spokesperson
LPP SA is one of the fastest growing clothing companies in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For over 20 years, the company has consistently carried out its operations in Poland and abroad, being successful on the demanding clothing market. LPP SA manages five fashion brands: Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito and Sinsay. The company has a network of nearly 1 700 stores and online shops of all its brands, and creates jobs for over 22 thousand people in its offices and sales structures in Poland, Europe, Asia and Africa. LPP SA is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the WIG20 index and belongs to the prestigious MSCI Poland index.