Social & Ethical Compliance Policy
About Our Policy
Factory X are committed to manufacturing products under safe, fair, and humane working conditions.
Our Ethical Sourcing Policy:
- Includes criteria on labour rights, anti-corruption, fair and safe working conditions, and environmental compliance
- Covers all our final stage manufacturers
- Incorporates conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition to setting as a minimum, compliance with local laws and regulations, this policy provides requirements and standards that all suppliers producing Factory X garments must demonstrate continuous improvement towards. They include:
Freedom of association
Suppliers will recognise the right of employees to join unions or representative committees, and the right of worker’s associations to collective bargaining.
Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted under law, the employer allows the development of a means for independent and free association and bargaining.
Safe working conditions
A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided. Adequate steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, or occurring in the course of, work by minimising as far as practical hazards in the workplace.
Health and safety training shall be provided and practiced on site.
Child, forced, bonded or prison labour
There shall be no recruitment of child labour. If child labour is found to exist, Factory X expects manufacturers to participate in and contribute to policies and programmes that provide for the transition of any child found to be performing child labour to enable her or him to attend and remain in quality education until no longer a child.
Suppliers must not use forced, bonded or prison labour. Workers will not be required to lodge deposits or identity papers with an employer and must be free to leave work at the end of the shift and terminate their employment with reasonable notice. if a worker is found to be employed under such conditions factory x expects the manufacturer to contribute to policies and programmes that provide for the transition of any individual found in this situation into fairly paid and legal employment.
Click here to view our Child and Forced Labour Policy and Procedures.
Fair wages
Terms and conditions of employment must be clearly communicated to all workers. written records of payments must be maintained for audit purposes. wages must be paid in line with national legal standards or industry benchmarks, whichever is greater.
Wages must be paid at regular intervals according to national or industry benchmarks. any deductions not provided for under national law are not permitted without the express written permission of the worker.
Living wages
We believe in the movement towards a Living Wage for all.
“A living wage should be earned in a standard work week (no more than 48 hours) by a worker and be sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and her or his family. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, housing, healthcare, clothing, transportation, energy and water. It also includes some money, which can be put aside for unexpected events.”
We are committed to cooperating with our suppliers, and multi-stakeholders to develop fairer working practices in the industry from the grassroots up. It will require governmental and industrial collaboration, as well as the individual brands actions to create a positive impact and achieve tangible results. We support the principles of ACT and agree a joint approach is necessary in order to achieve freedom of association, collective bargaining and a Living Wage for all.
Factory X Standard Supply Terms are an integral part of the buying agreement and were developed using the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code as a guide protocol, and also references: local laws, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions and principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We have adopted the benchmarks set by the Anker Living Wage Methodology in order to establish the living wage in regions where our suppliers are located, actively working towards closing the gap between living and minimum wages. Supporting collective bargaining between employers and workers forms an integral part of the agreement on Living Wages with workers free to exercise their right to organize and bargain collectively, in accordance with ILO conventions.
Protection of workers’ wages are of paramount importance to the company, as it forms an integral part of our production policy and is written into our terms and conditions. To separate labour, fabric and accessories to identify the breakdown of cost, we include all direct and indirect labour cost components in costing calculations.
In doing so, we provide guidance to suppliers on labour costing for suppliers and reflect increases in negotiated wages in the labour components of costing calculations. We are in direct contact with our suppliers and manufactures and offer guidance on labour costing and reflect increases in negotiated wages in the labour components of our costing calculations.
Factory X follows the 5 ACT Global Purchasing Practices Commitments:
- Commits that purchasing prices include wages as itemised costs
- Commits to fair terms of payments
- Commits to better planning and forecasting
- Commits to undertake training on responsible sourcing and buying
- Commits to practice responsible exit strategies
Our Roadmap towards a Living Wage
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2023 - Target for completion of transition from Minimum to Living Wages. |
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2021 – Update of purchase order for overseas and local suppliers with key points from the Factory X Standard Supply Terms and responsible purchasing embedded into the document. (Currently, as appendices, which form part of the buying agreement and must be signed off and adhered to as contract.) |
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2020/2021 - Australian Modern Slavery Act (2019) Commitment and due diligence towards compliance |
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2020 - Covid-19 Fashion Commitments awarded Green status for compliance and statement. |
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2020-2021 – Building Better Supplier Relationships. We continue to build strong ties with our suppliers, the majority of whom we have worked with over a number of years. |
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2020 - Wage Gap Analysis - Develop tools and support including a Wage Gap Analysis to identify gaps between current wages and Living Wage benchmarks. |
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2020 - Signed with International Labour Organisation (ILO supporting a unified approach to achieving freedom of association, collective bargaining and living wages for all workers. |
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2019/20 - Anker Methodology - External Training on Living Wage calculations |
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2019/20 - Independent Wage Audits of key suppliers. Terms and conditions of employment clearly communicated to all workers. Written records of payments maintained for internal and external audits. |
Reasonable working hours
Factory X prohibits the use of excessive overtime. Suppliers must comply with applicable laws and regulations regarding working hours and must operate in a manner that promotes humane and productive hours of work and working conditions. Working hours should not exceed 60 hours in any 7-day period. Regular working hours should be made clear in a contract, and not exceed 48 hours.
Non-discrimination
There is to be no discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation.
Click here to read our Gender Policy.
Fair and equitable treatment
Physical abuse, the threat of physical abuse, sexual and other forms of harassment, verbal abuse and other types of intimidation will never be used by a supplier or factory in relation to their workers.
The deduction of wages as a disciplinary measure will not be used.
Obligations to employees under labour and social security laws and regulations arising from the regular employment relationship shall not be avoided through the use of labour-only contracting, subcontracting, or home-based working schemes; nor through apprenticeship schemes where there is no real intent to impart skills or provide regular employment; nor shall any such obligations be avoided through the excessive use of fixed-term contracts of employment.
Responsible purchasing practices
We work towards a 6-month lead-time on our production orders. This model gives our manufacturer the opportunity to plan-ahead, stabilise their workforce and manage workflows.
We do not shop for the lowest price or tender out work. We only seek out new suppliers when our existing manufacturers are not able or willing to produce something in our range.
We also understand that our production process can have an impact on working conditions. Click here to find out more about our lead-time policy.
Environmental policy and waste management
Suppliers must comply with applicable environmental laws, must maintain a written environmental policy, and must implement a system to minimize or eliminate negative impacts of its practices on the environment.
Uzbek cotton pledge
Factory X has signed the cotton pledge to commit to not using cotton from Uzbekistan due to allegations of the systemic use of child and forced labour in the cultivation and harvesting of cotton in the region.
Reporting Conditions
As part of Factory X’s commitments outlined above, we are keen to be made aware of any situation where our social and ethical policy is not being upheld. We commit to investigating all complaints that we receive. If an issue is confirmed, we will work with the parties involved to develop a corrective action plan. Your complaint will remain strictly confidential, unless you advise otherwise.
You can contact Customer support. Complaints do not have to be lodged in English
Click here to view our bilingual factory posters.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction statement
In 2019 - Our Head Office switched over to 100% Green power which has no net greenhouse gas emissions and displaces electricity usage with certified renewable energy. The electricity for our stand alone stores and independent retail units is also 100% carbon neutral (NCOS accredited) and our energy usage is certified carbon neutral. This results in approximately 1279 tonnes of CO2 emissions being offset annually.
Factory X is aiming for a target of 30% GHG emissions reduction by 2030 AND a commitment to analyse a decarbonisation pathway for its supply chain in alignment with the 2018 UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action.
Social Compliance Audit Report
We request that our suppliers keep Factory X informed about all places producing goods intended for supply to Factory X (including their sub-contractors). We reserve the right to make unannounced visits at any time to all places of production (including our suppliers sub-contractors). Factory X furthermore reserves the right to assign, at its sole discretion, an independent third party to conduct inspections in order to ensure compliance with our ethical sourcing policy.
Click here to find out more about our ethical sourcing policy and to view our most recent ethical sourcing report.
If you have any further questions or concerns, then please contact us at Customer support.