Corporate Responsibility

ETHICAL TRADING POLICY

SAMURAI is committed to ethical trading and as such we partner with companies who share our values and beliefs, and who will uphold our standards. We commit to long-term relationships with all our suppliers who are paid a market price for the goods they they supply. Our Ethical Trading Policy is based around the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and we ask our partners to sign a copy of it. The policy covers areas such as working conditions, health and safety, working hours and discrimination.

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

We have an ongoing commitment to reduce our impact on the environment, constantly researching and adopting new ways to improve our working practices. All our garments are sealed in fully recyclable poly bags and packed in cardboard boxes which are reused and ultimately recycled. The paper used in our sublimation process is recycled, our Norfolk headquarters contain dedicated recycling bins, our factory uses sensor lights and energy-saving LED lights while computers, lights and other equipment are switched off at the end of the working day. We utilise a sea freight shipping option whenever possible to ensure greater efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint.

FACTORY AUDIT REPORTS

We conduct regular visits to our factory, as well as our approved manufacturer,s taking great care to establish strong relationships and ensuring ethical standards continue to be met. On every visit we inspect their workplaces to ensure working conditions are fair. We complete a factory audit report when we visit any factory to certify they meet our high standards and collect evidence of any local or national agreements that they may have signed up to. We also visit the fabric knitters and dyers, further research is carried out and information collated on their environmental practices.

FACTORY WORKING CONDITIONS

As the SAMURAI Factory is British-managed, we have established workplace standards using a supply chain code of conduct to protect our workers’ health and safety and ensure that our factory operations are environmentally sound.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Workers in factories can face a number of different dangers within the workplace such as fire, machinery accidents and exposure to toxic substances. Our workplace standards work to safeguard the workers against these risks, as well as ensuring that the workers have acceptable lighting, heating and ventilation and access to sanitary facilities without restriction. We require our factory to follow an established health and safety management system that adheres to the standards and procedures of the International Standard ISO 9000. SAMURAI ensure that we are diligent in supporting our factory to establish these health and safety requirements so that they meet our workplace standards. We make regular visits throughout the year to oversee auditing of the factory to ensure these standards are upheld continuously.

ENSURING FAIR WAGE

Our workers are guaranteed a living wage which means the workers, and their families, can afford a basic quality standard of living that is considered acceptable within their country’s current level of economic development. However, SAMURAI goes a step further, ensuring that they are paid fairly and on time, that their wage reflects their level of skill. They are also rewarded for any overtime and their wage reflects current economic climate. All workers are provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions in respect to wages before they enter employment. We also have a strict policy that no deductions will be made from a worker’s wage as a disciplinary measure.

EMPLOYMENT IS FREELY CHOSEN

SAMURAI ensures that the working hours of our factory employees are not excessive. In order to manage this, we stipulate a standard working week of 48 hours, excluding any voluntary overtime that may take place. Outside of the standard working hours, we do not allow working hours over a 7-day week to exceed 60 hours. It is a requirement for workers to have at least one day off per seven days worked.

WORKING HOURS

There is strictly no forced labour within our SAMURAI factory meaning that the workers are free to leave their employer after a reasonable notice period. In accordance with our workplace standards, business partners must not use forced labour, whether in the form of prison labour, indentured labour, bonded labour or otherwise. No employee may be compelled to work through force or intimidation of any form, or as a means of political coercion or as punishment for holding or expressing political views.

NO DISCRIMINATION IS PRACTICED

There is a zero tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind within SAMURAI. This includes, but is not limited to, 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.