Caprice Australia is committed to ensuring socially and environmentally responsible sourcing practices across our entire supply chain.
We do this in accordance with the law, international obligations, and our customer and licensor compliance requirements. We view ethical sourcing as a non-negotiable aspect of our business and, in turn, we expect the same from our suppliers.
To meet our ethical sourcing commitment, Caprice has implemented an Ethical Sourcing Program that is applicable to all suppliers contracted by Caprice to supply merchandise to, or on behalf of, Caprice. This covers all suppliers of merchandise produced under Caprice own brands (including Mambo and Dri-Glo), licensed brands, and retail customer own brands. The Ethical Sourcing Program also extends to all suppliers registered under our merchandise sourcing company, Glowstar.
The program is divided into three levels of action: Prevent, Detect and Respond. It is supported by:
· A comprehensive Ethical Sourcing Code, which includes the minimum standards of conduct that all factories must meet as a condition of doing business with Caprice;
· Capacity building training for factories on our Ethical Sourcing program requirements;
· A robust audit and monitoring program that requires all registered Caprice factories to have an approved ethical sourcing audit;
· A whistleblower line (compliance@caprice.com.au) through which factory workers can report actual or suspected violations of our Code to Caprice; and
· A Standard Operating Procedure documenting the Ethical Sourcing program’s governance structure, program objectives, internal roles and responsibilities and operational
aspects of the audit program.
Documents available as follows:
Caprice Australia Ethical Sourcing Code (english)
Caprice Australia Ethical Sourcing Code (chinese)
Ethical Sourcing Code Poster (english)
Ethical Sourcing Code Poster (chinese )
Caprice Ethical Sourcing Transparency Policy
Caprice Modern Slavery statement
Caprice Chemicals Policy
Ethical Sourcing Program Supplier Manual
Caprice Responsible Business Conduct Policy
All Caprice supplier factories are required to register their factory in our online production management and compliance system 3clicks, through which we manage the ethical sourcing onboarding and audit processes. Suppliers also have access to the Caprice ethical sourcing manual containing all relevant information.
Moving Forward
Through our sustainability strategy we have identified opportunities to uplift the Caprice Ethical Sourcing Program so that it will maintain its position as a best in class program.
One of the key focus areas will be to expand the scope of ethical sourcing program beyond our tier one factories (direct factories) to capture our high-risk tier two and three suppliers (e.g. ancillary production and suppliers of components and fabrics). The goal is that by end 2023, we will have full traceability across our high risk tier two and three suppliers.
Progress
The Caprice ethical sourcing program has grown substantially in recent year to accommodate a growing factory base. At the end of 2022, Caprice had a total of 153 registered supplier factories contracted to produce goods for or on behalf of Caprice. Each one of these factories is required to pass a robust ethical sourcing audit before they can be registered as a Caprice factory. The majority of these factories are located in China, with a small number located in India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Caprice now has a team of four full time team members that manage the audit program.
Over the course of 2022, we have taken a number of concrete steps to strengthen our ethical sourcing program:
Ethical sourcing grading system: Introduced a new traffic light grading system for the purpose of communicating and registering the results of supplier factory ES audits. The new grading system facilitates better reporting of audit results and enables Caprice to monitor improvement of factory performance in meeting ES standards over time.
Cotton supply chain traceability: In association with a key retail customer, Caprice implemented a Modern Slavery Declaration and Survey regarding cotton sourcing and yarn, and fabric manufacturers used in the manufacturing of the retail customer’s own brand apparel and home textile products. The disclosure process aids in the mitigation of modern slavery risks arising from high risk cotton regions and will support Caprice’s continued efforts to map our high risk Tier 2 and 3 processing facilities.
Better work buyer participant: Caprice registered with Better Work as a buyer participant. Better Work is a collaboration of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), which consists of a comprehensive program bringing together all levels of the garment industry to improve working conditions and respect of labour rights for workers, and boost the competitiveness of apparel businesses.
All Caprice supplier factories are required to register their factory in our online production management and compliance system 3clicks, through which we manage the ethical sourcing onboarding and audit processes. Suppliers also have access to the Caprice ethical sourcing manual containing all relevant information.
Moving Forward
Through our sustainability strategy we have identified opportunities to uplift the Caprice Ethical Sourcing Program so that it will maintain its position as a best in class program.
One of the key focus areas will be to expand the scope of ethical sourcing program beyond our tier one factories (direct factories) to capture our high-risk tier two and three suppliers (e.g. ancillary production and suppliers of components and fabrics). The goal is that by end 2023, we will have full traceability across our high risk tier two and three suppliers.
Progress
The Caprice ethical sourcing program has grown substantially in recent year to accommodate a growing factory base. At the end of 2022, Caprice had a total of 153 registered supplier factories contracted to produce goods for or on behalf of Caprice. Each one of these factories is required to pass a robust ethical sourcing audit before they can be registered as a Caprice factory. The majority of these factories are located in China, with a small number located in India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Caprice now has a team of four full time team members that manage the audit program.
Over the course of 2022, we have taken a number of concrete steps to strengthen our ethical sourcing program:
Ethical sourcing grading system: Introduced a new traffic light grading system for the purpose of communicating and registering the results of supplier factory ES audits. The new grading system facilitates better reporting of audit results and enables Caprice to monitor improvement of factory performance in meeting ES standards over time.
Cotton supply chain traceability: In association with a key retail customer, Caprice implemented a Modern Slavery Declaration and Survey regarding cotton sourcing and yarn, and fabric manufacturers used in the manufacturing of the retail customer’s own brand apparel and home textile products. The disclosure process aids in the mitigation of modern slavery risks arising from high risk cotton regions and will support Caprice’s continued efforts to map our high risk Tier 2 and 3 processing facilities.
Better work buyer participant: Caprice registered with Better Work as a buyer participant. Better Work is a collaboration of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), which consists of a comprehensive program bringing together all levels of the garment industry to improve working conditions and respect of labour rights for workers, and boost the competitiveness of apparel businesses.
