Jack Wolfskin – Commitment for building and fire safety of its production partners in Bangladesh

• Commitment to improving and adhering to standards in close cooperation with local suppliers
• Jack Wolfskin promotes compliance with the requirements of the Bangladesh Accord and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, and supports its partners in achieving these measures through long-term planning

As part of Fashion Revolution Week, Jack Wolfskin – along with many other apparel companies – is emphasising how important it is for brands to actively engage with their manufacturing partners in order to ensure safe and fair working conditions in their supply chains. The independent evaluation carried out by the Fair Wear Foundation honoured Jack Wolfskin with ‘Leadership Status’ for being a model company since it became a member – a sign of true commitment to the cause.

Melody Harris-Jensbach, CEO of Jack Wolfksin, said: “Proactively taking responsibility for social issues is a part of our corporate identity and culture. This includes, most especially, issues surrounding fair and humane working conditions, which we are very much committed to promoting through our various initiatives, not just for our own company, but our entire supply chain. It goes without saying that for those based in Bangladesh, this not only includes complying with agreed standards, but also fire and building safety, which are also important criteria for us when selecting our partners. We will only enter a long-term cooperation if the production company is as committed to adhering to these requirements as we are."

Jack Wolfskin is not a member of the Bangladesh Accord itself, but works exclusively with local partners who belong to the Accord or the Alliance. Jack Wolfskin supports the aims of the Accord and promotes the adherence to its standards and requirements, in collaboration with the Fair Wear Foundation and by using its own initiatives too, in order to continuously improve safety measures. The improvement measures which are identified by the Accord or Alliance during inspections are subsequently implemented by the suppliers. Jack Wolfskin stipulates and checks this regularly.
The supplier that is easily the most important for Jack Wolfskin in Bangladesh is the Youngone Corporation, a manufacturer used by many responsible brands. Jack Wolfskin works together with these brands to ensure the implementation of social and ecological standards as well as the fire and building safety of the factories. The Youngone Corporation's factory building was audited by both Accord and independent building safety specialists from the Fair Wear Foundation. In addition to this, the Fair Wear Foundation also conducted a training session there on fire safety. The extensive auditing of the Youngone Corporation's manufacturing facility by the Fair Wear Foundation will continue in the future and will also be regularly inspected by Jack Wolfskin employees. Any improvement measures that are identified will be subsequently implemented and reviewed in close collaboration with competitors that also work with Youngone.

Jack Wolfskin works on the basis that providing safety in terms of planning is the most important and sustainable approach in order to implement effective improvement measures for fire and building safety. The company has agreed with its partners on long-term, steady sales volumes that enable companies to invest in their infrastructure – especially those based in Bangladesh, where most investments are made by Accord and Alliance's valuable initiative. Jack Wolfskin is therefore actively working on concrete implementation measures as well as long-term improvement of the infrastructure in Bangladesh.

More information:

Jack Wolfskin sustainability
Jack Wolfskin social report (PDF)