MODERN SLAVERY

Introduction

It is a priority for Will More International to ensure that we trade ethically, source responsibly and work to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking throughout our organisation and in our supply chain. We take seriously any allegation of human rights abuse in all its forms and will not tolerate human rights’ abuse against individuals within Will More International’s own organisation or our supply chain. Modern slavery can take many different forms and is a complex issue. Modern slavery is considered as part of a broader human rights agenda within the business. Will More International has taken steps to identify areas where there are risks of modern slavery occurring within our business and supply chain and we are working to eliminate that possibility. This is Will More International’s first statement made under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 Section 54 and constitutes our modern slavery statement for the 2019/2020 financial year.

Our Commitment

Will More International is committed to preventing modern slavery and human trafficking throughout our business and supply chain and to understanding the modern slavery risks that may be present. We do this by:

continuing to take steps to find effective methods to eliminate slavery and human trafficking practices. We are working towards full transparency of our supply chain
ensuring our policies and procedures are reviewed regularly and that we have development and training processes in place to enable our internal teams and our suppliers to have appropriate awareness and understanding of the issues and our responsibilities
respecting internationally recognised human rights, ensuring the people who provide the products and services we buy, and use are treated fairly, and that their fundamental human rights are protected and respected
ensuring new suppliers understand our requirements before they commence working with us, and those existing suppliers comply with those requirements.

Continuous improvement lies at the heart of our business. We aim to conduct our business in an ethical manner and to develop positive relationships with our suppliers to raise standards of working conditions in the factories where our products are made.

Our Supply Chain

Will More International garments and products are sourced from over 50 suppliers, with products manufactured in around 7 countries. In common with other sourcing companies, Will More International’s supply chain is both diverse and dynamic and our challenges in this area include dealing with changing political and economic landscapes. Our key priority of trading ethically and acting responsibly towards the workers in our own and our suppliers’ factories is managed through our global sourcing specialist team. Our priority is to support factories, ensuring they understand the requirements and expectations of them.

The Sourcing Team works directly with both new and existing suppliers and their factories to ensure they demonstrate compliance with the requirements of our Auditing Standards. These Auditing Standards have been developed to support Will More International’s Principle Standards, our ethical trading programme, which is aligned to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code. Our current focus continues to be on the identification of areas of our supply chains where there is a greater risk for vulnerable workers and our Principle Standards clearly set out the minimum standards and requirements for our product suppliers in relation to workers’ safety and human rights, employment and working conditions. Auditing is an essential tool for identifying potential human rights risks. All factories supplying Will More International products will be audited during this financial year. Factory audit ratings are used as an internal metric and the feedback and results of audits are shared with our suppliers. Our priority is to support factories, ensuring they understand the requirements and expectations of them. We use a large variety of raw materials and our aim is to ensure these materials are sourced and produced sustainably and responsibly. The product supply chains we work with are complex and making improvements in supply chain traceability and transparency is a focus for Will More International. We work closely with our suppliers in different parts of the supply chain to understand where raw materials come from and to identify responsible sourcing.

Our Policies

Our internal working practices and business policies are designed to ensure that people are treated with dignity and respect by upholding internationally recognised human rights principles encompassed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Will More International’s business policies relating to modern slavery are published on our website at www.willmoreuniforms.com:

Human Rights and Modern Slavery
Whistleblowing for Will More International’s third parties
Code of Practice Principle Standards and Auditing Standards
Health and Safety
Anti-bribery

We also have the following employee-related policies:

Whistleblowing for employees

Our Core Standards comprise:

No forced labour or modern slavery
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
Safe and healthy working conditions
No child labour
Fair wages and benefits
Lawful working conditions
No discrimination practised
Employment security
A respectful treatment of workers

Our Human Rights and Modern Slavery Policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to identify, prevent or mitigate human rights’ risks, slavery and human trafficking.

Collaboration

Our business cannot tackle modern slavery alone, so it is important and valuable for Will More International’s to work with others to develop solutions for some of the more complex and systemic problems found within global supply chains. We believe that by maintaining strong direct relationships and undertaking collaborative work such as sharing information and resources with other manufacturers, retailers, brands, trade unions and non-governmental organisations, we are all able to deliver real benefits to workers in our supply chains.

Our Governance Due Diligence Approach

Will More International has clear policies and monitoring processes in place combined with robust supply chain management. We review and update these policies and practices regularly as we learn from our experiences. Our auditing process is a vital due diligence tool as it delivers assurance that our suppliers and their factories understand their responsibility to comply with our ethical standards. In addition to auditing, our strategy is built on investing time and resources to support effective communication and working collaboratively with our suppliers to help prevent issues arising or resolving issues we have identified. We continue to use the UNGP Reporting Framework to help us build a more detailed picture and better understand the salient human rights issues across our business (i.e. those human rights that stand out because they are at risk of the most severe negative impact through the company’s activities or business relationships).

The Will More International’s Risk Management and Internal Controls framework is embedded throughout the business. Each business area is responsible for preparing and maintaining operational risk registers, which include risks relating to human rights, modern slavery and bribery. The Managing Director reviews and approves the operational risk registers at least annually. Any significant matters are communicated to the Board of Directors.