IC Companys – Annual Report 2008/09 0 - IC Companys A/S

Communication on progress 2008/09
The ten principles of the UN Global Compact
HUMAN RIGHTS
1. principle Businesses should support and
respect the protection of internationally proclaimed
human rights.
2. principle Businesses should make sure
they are not complicit in human rights abuses
LABOUR
3. principle Businesses should uphold the
freedom of association and the effective
recognition of the right to collective bargaining
4. principle the elimination of all forms of
forced and compulsory labour
5. principle the effective abolition of child
labour; and
6. principle eliminate discrimination in respect
of employment and occupation
ENVIRONMENT
7. principle Businesses should support a
precautionary approach to environmental
challenges
8. principle Businesses should undertake
initiatives to promote greater environmental
responsibility
9. principle Businesses should encourage the
development and diffusion of environmentally
friendly technologies
ANTI-CORRUPTION
10. principle Businesses should work against
corruption in all its forms, including extortion
and bribery
IC Companys – Annual Report 2008/09
Activities
General activities
BSCI’s Code of Conduct, which among
other things builds on the ten principles
of the UN Global Compact, was adopted
as IC Companys’ Code of Conduct and is
a permanent part of the Group’s supplier
contracts. Compliance is subject to
audits by independent and BSCI approved
auditors.
IC Companys actively supports the NICE
project (Nordic Initiative Clean & Ethical),
the kickstart of which takes place at the
Fashion Summit on 9 December 2009.
Group brand activities
The Group’s brand Jackpot ranks among
the Nordic frontrunners in terms of sustainable
development of the entire value
chain in textile production. Jackpot
joined the Dutch NGO Made-By group in
order to contribute to this development.
Jackpot has a donation policy that aims
at lending a hand to the communities
who produce the organic cotton & sows
the clothes.
Cottonfield supports ”School for Life”, a
teaching programme for children in
Ghana, which has existed since 1995.
The support is funded by the project
Cottonfield Heroes.
Malene Birger, Designer and creative
director for By Malene Birger, is a UNICEF
ambassador.
Designer and creative director for Designers
Remix Collection, Charlotte
Eskildsen, was appointed Red Cross
ambassador.
Objective and results
General activities
In 2008/09, IC Companys sourced 94% of the total
volume in countries classified as high risk countries by
the UN. Before July 2010, it is the Group’s target to
audit 2/3 of the total order mass sourced in this category
of countries. Currently, we have reached 57%
(33%).
Fashion Summit kickstarts a long-term number of initiatives,
which are intended to motivate and help Nordic
fashion companies to work more responsively using
CRS as their strategic business foundation.
Group brand activities
20% of all Jackpot products are organic, and via a track
and trace code on the care label inside the item, the
journey of the item from field to store can be traced on
the brand website
The brand also supports farmers, who are converting
from conventional to organic production (Cotton in
Conversion), among other things by paying a premium
for the cotton in the conversion period.
Jackpot supports a slum school in Bangladesh ”The
Gulshan Literacy Programme” and responsible for
introducing two extra grades – 6. and 7. grade.
Jackpot supports a farm cooperative in India, ”Chetna”
and has for instance paid a rice mill and a warehouse.
These two buildings are important, as the farmers have
to alternate between growing cotton with rice and lentils
to ensure the fertility of the soil.
The charity project Cottonfield Heroes ensures nine
months schooling for 250 Ghanaian children. The programme
aims at children between the ages of 8 to 12
years, who otherwise would not have the possibility to
attend school. The programme teaches children to read
write and calculate in their mother tongue, and results
show that 80% of them continue to attend school.
Four times a year Malene Birger designs a T-shirt, the
proceeds of which is allocated to the UNICEF volunteer
work to help the children of the world.
In the future, Charlotte Eskildsen will dedicate herself to
Danish Red Cross fundraising.
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