EK Fashion ESG Annual Report 2021

Chapter 4
DEEP DIVE: GOALS, ACHIEVEMENT,
FOLLOW-UP
READY-MADE GARMENT MANUFACTURERS
Myanmar
7.6%
Menswear
Bangladesh
3.3%
BUY SMARTER
In the strategic pillar of Buy Smarter, we focus on clothes that are produced with
better sustainability. A significant first step for EK Fashion was to start making its
private labels and Babyface more sustainable. Each department, women’s,
men’s and Babyface has its own pace and goals.
1. TRANSPARENCY IN THE CHAIN
To make a brand sustainable, you must first have insight into where the products are
made. If you know where your products are made, you can identify the possible risks
in your supply chain and you know the improvements that you as a company can
make. That is why EK Fashion aims at getting to the bottom of all the links in the chain.
Unfortunately, there are not yet any international standards to
make transparency and traceability measurable and
reportable. Therefore, EK Fashion, together with tex.tracer,
has drawn up standards that we use to report on traceability
and transparency. These standards consist of three levels of
traceability and transparency (abbreviated to T.T levels) and
a clear division of production processes into tiers. Defining
production processes in tiers remains complex due to the
various types of supply chains. Nevertheless, the established
tiers help to set clear goals.
T.T Levels
- T.T Level 1: the supply chain partner is known to
EK Fashion but has not yet registered with Tex.tracer.
- T.T Level 2: The concerned supply chain partner has
created a tex. tracer account. This account includes
information such as the partner's name, contact
information, address, trade register number, product
groups, etc.
- T.T Level 3: the supply chain partner has uploaded
and verified order information.
India
76.8%
Babyface
Germany
0.3%
Womenswear
China
89.1%
China
22.9%
Transparency Pledge
By signing the Transparency Pledge
for Babyface in February 2021,
EK Fashion is demonstrating our
commitment to increased transparency
of our supply chain. Since May 2021
the Babyface production locations are
publicly listed on the Babyface website
and the Open Apparel Registry. Once
we will have reached the lower limit of
60% transparency in tier 1 and 2 for
the men's and women's private label
divisions, we will also make these
production locations public.
Tex.tracer
To gain a better understanding of our
supply chain, we started to work with
tex.tracer in April 2020. We can see the
production details for every entered
article: from the purchase of the raw
material (e.g. cotton) to the delivery to
our customers. All supply chain
partners enter the requested information
by themselves, such as company
information, certificates and order
data. This information is then verified
via geolocation data, time stamps,
digital confirmation between the
various links and automated checks.
In case there is any deviating input, the
system does not accept any data input.
The data is stored in a decentralised
database.
About tex.tracer
With tex.tracer, we are effectively
making efforts to make our supply
chain traceable and transparent.
By using a blockchain-driven
platform and the data that suppliers
enter, the team at EK Fashion
gains gradually more insight into
the entire chain, which enables us
to make well-considered decisions
to become more sustainable.
Tiers:
- Tier 0: Logistics (transport/importers/storage), agents.
- Tier 1: Assembly factories: cutting, sewing, assembling
and packing for shipment.
- Tier 2: Processing facilities: fabric production: printing,
dyeing, washing/washing, embroidery.
- Tier 3: Processing facilities: yarn spinning, knitting and
weaving.
- Tier 4: Raw material suppliers: cotton cultivation,
farming, livestock farms.
Ready-Made Garments (RMG)
manufacturers provide finished textile products that can
be bought in shops or online and are ready to wear.
Italy
54.6%
Macedonia
0.3%
India
3.6%
China
24.9%
Turkey
14.4%
Bangladesh
2.1%
Greece
0.2%
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