OUR RESPONSIBILITIES - HUMAN, ANIMAL AND PLANET

This statement was last updated May 2022

Human

“Whatever is my right as a man is also the right of another; and it becomes my duty to guarantee as well as to possess.” – Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

SKINS has clear and unambiguous standards that it sets for itself and its partners. These standards can be called a Code of Conduct, but for SKINS these are inalienable rights expected to be implemented as a minimum by a SKINS partner for the care and protection of our valuable factory workers.

EMPLOYMENT IS VOLUNTARY
A SKINS partner does not use forced labour of any kind whether it be prison labour, indentured labour, bonded labour or otherwise.

EMPLOYMENT IS FOR WORKERS 16 YEARS OR OVER
A factory worker is not someone who is 15 years or younger. A SKINS partner will only employ workers of 16 years or older. If the legal working age for the country is older then 16 years then this is the relevant age limit for SKINS. Workers under the age of 18 must not work with hazardous chemicals or conditions.

HARASSMENT OR ABUSE
Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity. No worker shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse.

NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WORKERS
No worker shall be subject to any discrimination in employment, hiring, salary, compensation, promotion, discipline, termination or retirement on the basis of gender, race, religion, age, pregnancy, disability, nationality, political opinion, social or ethnic origin, trade union affiliation, sexual orientation, parental status, marital status or any other status protected by the laws of the relevant country.

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
To the extent permitted by the laws of the relevant country, workers have the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. This includes the right to form and join trade unions and other work organisations of their own choosing without harassment, interference or retaliation.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
The work environment will be a safe, hygienic and healthy place to work. A SKINS partner will take all necessary steps to prevent accidents and injury to workers in the workplace. A SKINS partner must have systems in place to detect, avoid and respond to potential risks and injury to workers.

COMPENSATION PAID ON TIME
A worker will be paid at least the minimum wage and mandated benefits including holiday and leave allowance and severance pay required by the laws of the relevant country. There will be no deductions for disciplinary matters.

WORKING HOURS WILL NOT BE EXCESSIVE
A worker will not work in excess of 60 hours per week, or the regular and overtime hours allowed by the laws of the manufacturing country, whichever is less. Overtime hours will be consensual and compensated at a premium rate. Workers will have at least 24 hours rest in any 7 day period.

EMPLOYMENT IS REGULAR AND RECOGNISED
Workers must perform work for the SKINS partner as part of a recognised employment relationship by the relevant country. There will be no arrangements of workers providing manufacturing services in the home.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ARE MINIMISED
A SKINS partner must make progressive improvements in environmental performance of their operations by integrating principles of sustainability into business decisions, responsible use of natural resources and adoption of reasonable measures to mitigate negative operational impacts on the environment. A SKINS partner must also protect human health and the environment by meeting applicable regulatory requirements of the relevant country including air emissions, solid/hazardous waste and water discharge.

OUR CONDITIONS
As a condition of doing business with SKINS, a SKINS partner must implement and integrate ALL of the standards set out above for the benefit of the valuable workers.

Our manufacturing partners allow SKINS and its agents and partners access to ALL facilities under its control or the control of related or associated parties for the purposes of inspection and verification of the implementation of the standards set out above.

Our principal manufacturing partner, responsible for producing the majority of SKINS, has Gold Status with WRAP – The Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production.

The WRAP principles include: 

  • Compliance with Laws and Workplace Regulations
  • Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
  • Prohibition of Harassment or Abuse
  • Prohibition of Discrimination
  • Prohibition of Forced Labor
  • Compensation and Benefits
  • Hours of Work
  • Health and Safety
  • Customs Compliance
  • Environment
  • Security

Intertek independently monitors the implementation of the WRAP principles on an ongoing basis.

Animal

All of the products manufactured and sold by SKINS are vegan.

There are no animal products in the raw materials, fabrics, dyes or glue of the heat seal logos of our products. We endeavor to ensure that zero materials and substances are derived from animals.

Our products are certified ‘VEGAN’ with PETA – The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Planet

The garment industry is one of the largest polluters on the planet. We are patently aware of our responsibilities to bring new sustainable fabrics and processes into our supply chain.

We are working with fabric mills and R&D departments of our manufacturers to develop new solutions from recycled materials and sustainable materials. We are not interested in recycling plastic into a single use solution only to throw the problem forward for the next generation. We are actively working to adapt recyclable, multiple use components in our garments of the future. Ideally this will consume some of the plastic and fishing net waste currently available and adapt new technologies so that our fabrics are recyclable and re-usable.

Right now, we are rationalising the width of our product ranges and reforecasting our production quantities. We are producing to meet demand. We are not fueling excess production to push more product into the market, wasting logistic resources and commodities. We are reducing waste to minimize carbon footprint.

We also use 100% recyclable packaging. Our product bags and mail packets are also 100% biodegradable.

Our packaging is flat packed so that we are not sending rigid boxes and effectively shipping air. We thereby minimise our use of logistic resources and importantly shipping container space.