People in focus

Everyone involved in the production of our clothes has the right to safe and decent working conditions.

Dressmann is part of Varner, which is committed to respecting fundamental human rights and the right to decent work in our production. This commitment is at the core of our ethical guidelines. The challenges we face in the textile industry are many and complex, and we aim to address these with transparency, focusing on development and improvement.

Our goal is to work closely with our suppliers to ensure safe workplaces where the rights of factory workers are respected and protected.

Varner has established ethical guidelines both for Dressmann as a company and regarding the expectations and requirements we set for our partners. These apply to all of Varner’s chains, including Dressmann. The guidelines are based on the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights and the core conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and outlines our requirements and expectations for working conditions. You can find all our guidelines here.

Working on social improvements requires long-term focus, collaboration, and a broad understanding of local conditions.

How We Work with Our Producers

We have established regional offices in our four main production markets: China, Bangladesh, India, and Turkey. Here we have CSR employees specialized in social responsibility, human rights, and labor rights.

Being present in these markets enables us to collaborate with our producers and work together to improve production conditions where necessary. Our local employees regularly visit our factories and maintain ongoing dialogue with everyone involved in our production, from management to factory workers.

All factories producing for Varner and Dressmann must be approved by our CSR team before entering into an agreement. The factories undergo a thorough evaluation and inspection to ensure our ethical requirements are met. All suppliers must sign and acknowledge the requirements in our ethical guidelines, which cover areas such as health and safety as, the prohibition of child labor, and requirements for decent wages and working hours.

Factory Follow-up

Our local CSR teams regularly monitor and assess the conditions of our approved suppliers. Through factory visits, meetings, document reviews, and inspections, the actual conditions at the factories are assessed. Inspections are carried out by both third-party inspectors and our own employees – these can be both announced and unannounced.

During an inspection, several aspects are carefully reviewed: the building and production facilities are inspected, interviews and conversations with workers and management are conducted, and all relevant documents, policies, certificates, and licenses are examined.

The result of these evaluations forms the basis for the factories’ improvement plans. If any discrepancies between our requirements and the actual conditions are identified, a detailed improvement plan is developed, outlining specific actions to be taken within a set timeframe.

In addition to regular follow-up at the factories, we initiate or participate in various projects focused on specific aspects of our ethical guidelines. A key focus is building capacity at our factories though these initiatives, contributing to making the industry safer and better for those working in production.

Due Diligence Assessments

Varner uses due diligence assessments as a method to identify, prevent, address, and monitor actual and potential negative impacts on people in our supply chain.

These assessments help us to prioritize and guide our efforts, allowing us to focus on the areas where we see the greatest risk. We continuously evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of our measures. You can find more detailed information about this work in our sustainability report.

Public Factory Lists

We collaborate with around 300 producers in Asia and Europe. Varner has signed The Transparency Pledge, which is an initiative to promote transparency in supply chains. Therefore, we publish all first-tier factories (production factories) and strategic second-tier factories on Varner.com and Open Supply Hub.

Accord Agreement for Safe Workplaces

The Accord agreement was launched after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh in 2013. We signed the Accord Bangladesh in 2013 and the Accord Pakistan, which was launched at the start of 2023. The Accord is a binding agreement between labor organizations, unions, and textile companies – the goal of the agreement is to ensure that all textile factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan are safe workplaces.

As a result of the agreement, independent inspections of building safety, electrical safety, and fire safety are conducted at all our factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The inspections form the basis for an improvement plan that must be carried out. Training and active participation from workers are also part of the program.

Learn more about the Accord agreement here.

Reporting

Since 2003, we have been a member of Ethical Trade Norway. This is a membership organization that provides guidance to businesses and the public sector on sustainability and social responsibility.

As a member of Ethical Trade Norway, we have reported annually on our efforts to promote social responsibility within our supply chain, highlighting key risk areas, our progress toward our sustainability goals, and the challenges we've encountered along the way.

Since 2021, we have also published an annual sustainability report that describes how we work with people, materials, the environment, and climate. You can also find the status and progress of our sustainability goals. You can find the sustainability report here.

To learn more about how Varner and Dressmann are working towards a more sustainable production, visit Varner’s website. If you have any further questions, you can send an email to the sustainability department at [email protected].