We believe it is the responsibility of every individual to be a good citizen, and while being a small player in a global market can at times be daunting, we believe our impact on human rights can be just as significant as larger operations and that we can all make a difference. We collaborate with leading global supply chain initiatives to ensure we're meeting our own stringent commitments on responsible sourcing.

Everyone has the right to a fair and safe working environment. With amfori, we’re ensuring the clothes you buy are produced through a healthy and transparent supply chain, compliant with international labour laws.

Amfori is a global organisation (over 2400 members worldwide) supporting environmental and human rights due diligence in supply chains. Their vision, 'Trade with purpose' heps members monitor and improve their supply chains to deliver social and environmental benefits. A partnership with amfori helps us ensure our products are manufactured without child labour, discrimination or unsafe worker conditions.

Best practice starts at the source. Through training, Better Cotton aims to facilitate more sustainable cotton production, making it better for the people who produce it, better for the environment and better for the future.

Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is the largest cotton sustainability program in the world, helping cotton communities thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Better Cotton trains workers in more sustainable farming practices, outlines and assesses compliance and has created a network of partners to connect supply with demand.

As part of our wider ethos, it’s important to us that we source from ethical, sustainable suppliers. AS Colour is committed to improving cotton farming practices globally with Better Cotton. By partnering with the Better Cotton Initiative, we are part of a collective that is committed to improving social, environmental and economic outcomes for the industry we are a part of.

The Better Cotton Initiative's 2030 strategy covers five key impact areas - climate change mitigation, soil health, pesticide use, smallholder livelihoods and women’s empowerment. Alongside this strategy, they have launched a specific climate change mitigation target - to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of Better Cotton produced by 50%.

Better Cotton Initiative works with on-the-ground partners across the world to support cotton communities to build resilience and improve their livelihoods, with a big focus on women’s equality within the cotton farming community and in some cases gaining economic independence and or leadership roles. Better Cotton is sourced via a chain of custody model called mass balance. This means that Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products, however, Better Cotton Farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we ‘source.’ Better Cotton trains farmers to use water efficiently, care for soil health and natural habitats, reduce use of the most harmful chemicals and respect workers’ rights and wellbeing.

OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified ensures that products are free from dangerous substances—chemicals like pesticides, heavy metals, formaldehyde, and undesirable surfactants. The certification is designed to ensure the effect the dyeing industry has on the environment is minimised and the garments are safe for consumers as well as the people who make and sell them.

Established in 1992, the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 is a testing certification for numerous harmful chemicals, even if they are not yet legally regulated. The certification of products in accordance with OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 is that all parts of an article meet the required criteria. Extensive product checks and regular company on-site visits also ensure that the industry has a globally sustainable awareness of the responsible use of chemicals.

We only partner with factories that work to provide safe, fair, legal, and humane conditions. We select our factories very carefully, seeking the best from around the world. We prioritise transparency and traceability across all levels of our supply chain. Our supply chain is made up of five levels, which include 32 garment factories.

Code of Conduct 

• Our Code forms the principal part of our commitment to social responsibility by upholding worker rights and protecting them against abuses. It applies to each of our factories. Compliance with the Code is enforced by way of independent audits.
  
  
• The Code is based around International Labour Organisation (ILO) principles and goes beyond minimum legal requirements. ILO’s Four Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work define prohibitions against child labour, forced labour and discrimination, and guarantees for worker rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

BSCI (www.bsci-intl.org)

• The Business Social Compliance Initiative is a leading business-driven initiative for companies committed to improving working conditions in factories and farms worldwide. It focuses on production for the European market, and offers a system to monitor working conditions of manufacturers through audits; those audits are then shared. BSCI also provides workshops for customers and manufacturers to raise awareness and tackle improvements. BSCI’s Code of Conduct sets standards for working conditions based on international conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines, UN Global Compact and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions and Recommendations.

Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (www.bangladeshaccord.org)

• The Accord is an independent, legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions designed to work towards a safe and healthy Bangladeshi Ready-Made Garment Industry. The aim is to enable a working environment in which no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses or other accidents that could be prevented with reasonable health and safety measures.
  
  
• As a signatory AS Colour is committed to: an independent inspection programme, disclosure of all factories, inspection reports and corrective action plans, an assurance that sufficient funds are available for remediation, health and safety committees in all factories, training programmes, complaints mechanisms and the right for workers to refuse unsafe work.

Our Own Contact With Factories

• Finally, members of the AS Colour team visit each of our factories on a regular basis (twice per year). We are also in contact daily by email and phone.
  
  
• Our Code of Conduct and our own contact details are displayed in each factory and workers are made aware of them. They may contact us directly should they suspect any Code violations or have issues which they feel cannot be resolved via their employer.

WRAP (www.wrapcompliance.org)

• WRAP is the world’s largest independent factory-based social compliance certification programme for the sewn products sector.
  
  
• It's 12 Principles cover: compliance with local laws, prohibition of forced labour, child labour, discrimination, harassment or abuse, compensation and benefits, hours of work, health and safety, freedom of association, environment, customs compliance, security.
  
  
• WRAP provides for at least annual unannounced audits, which include allowance for off-site employee interviews. From this, corrective action plans are put in place as well as follow-up audits to resolve any non-compliance before certification is awarded.