Corporate Social Responsibility

Our Responsibilities

The Hunkemöller Code of Conduct
At Hunkemöller, we love making beautiful products for our customers but we take our responsibilities as a global retailer very seriously too. We’re passionate about the supply chain we work with, our impact on the environment and how we get involved in the community.

We are proud of our Company values and the trust we have built with our suppliers, employees and partners. Our employees and relations should always comply with the legislation and regulations of the countries in which we are active and also comply with the values and standards that apply within Hunkemöller and which have been laid down in this Code of Conduct.

Working conditions
We design, produce and sell all our own collections. The whole process from design to delivery in stores is managed with love from our Head Office. We offer such a variety of sexy looks, that we work with lots of different suppliers across the world, each with their own skills and talents.

We don’t own the factories that make our products so it’s crucial we work in partnership with our suppliers to bring you high quality products you can trust. We build long-term relationships that benefit both sides. All our suppliers, all over the world, follow the same social and environmental guidelines to make sure our products are up to our standards.

We care about the people who make our products and believe that everyone has the right to work in a safe and healthy environment. We’ve put together a code of conduct that reflects these beliefs and is in line with local laws in the countries we source from, International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and the UN declaration on Human Rights, including;

Protection against discrimination, child labour and bonded labour
Fair pay and decent working hours
Safe environment to work in
The freedom of association and collective bargaining
Protection of the environment
Ethical business behaviour

We’re a member of the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative), which works to improve working conditions in the supply chain.

For more information: Hunkemöller's Sustainability Report

Here’s how this works with our suppliers:

We monitor all our direct suppliers to ensure our requirements are met
If a supplier faces challenges in meeting our requirements, we work together on a plan that will make sure they’re able to meet them, in a reasonable timeframe.
To check that our suppliers are meeting our code of conduct, they’re audited on a regular basis by a third-party organization.
When we start a new business relationship with a supplier, they have to sign our Code of Conduct. This confirms that they’re aware of our terms and how they need to carry them out in their factories. By signing our Code of Conduct they’re also agreeing that they will keep to these terms.
Before an order is placed with any new supplier, they must show us documentation that proves that they meet our social and environmental standards.

Our relationship with Bangladesh

We fully support the ACCORD on Fire and Building safety in Bangladesh. Along with other brands, who’ve also signed up, we finance and implement joint fire and building safety programmes which include safety inspections, public reporting, remediation and fire safety training at factories. All the factories making our garments have been inspected for fire, electrical and structural safety.

For more information: Bangladesh Accord

Last year, we took part in a pilot project within the ACCORD to set up a special training programme that give workers the power to raise and address concerns about health and safety risks.

Since 2013 the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety has set a globally respected example of how great progress can be achieved in joint-efforts ensuring that no worker need to fear fires, building collapses or other accidents.

At Hunkemoller we are committed to safe working conditions in Bangladesh and have demonstrated this by being actively engaged in the Accord since 2015. In 2018 we also signed the Transition Accord to stand by the Accords devotion to complete safety remediation and safety protection at covered factories.

We are concerned about the lack of progress regarding the transition and we stand by our commitment to the Transition Accord and stand-by the Accord Steering Committee devotion to finalizing a responsible timebound and preparedness-based transition plan.

Our impact on the environment
We’ve made a promise:
On the 4^th of July 2016, we signed a binding agreement for sustainable fashion and textiles. This is the first of its kind and is a Dutch covenant that follows on from the original Dutch National Action Plan, first presented in 2013. The aim is to bring positive and sustainable change to the textile and garment industry all over the world and it’s supported by trade unions, industry organizations, civil-society organizations and the Dutch government. We’re committed to working with our suppliers to solve sustainability challenges that are present within the countries they produce in.

Recycling:
In February 2016, we started “Bring Sexy Back”, a campaign in our Dutch stores which asks our customers to bring in their unwanted clothing, of all types, from any brand and in any condition. We’ll make sure these items are donated to people who really need them and in return for every full bag of clothing we receive, we’re offering a 10% discount voucher that can be used on one item from our stores.

All of our old stock is sold or recycled in aid of the Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children. This organization provides support to terminally ill and disabled children whilst also making sure there is a minimal impact on the environment. We value our partnership with 'Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children’ and the information they provide helps us to identify and reduce our terminal stock.

The materials we use:
We’re conscious that the materials we use in our products and stores need to have as minimal impact on the environment and nature as possible. As part of this we:

Are on the fur-free list of Fur Free Retailers.
Don’t use real leather.
Only use feathers with careful consideration.
Charge for plastic bags in the Netherlands and Germany to reduce their usage and have already seen a 50% reduction.
Replaced some plastic bags with papers ones and have introduced a reusable shopper.
Introduced a ‘Restricted Substances List’ to help our suppliers understand which chemicals they are not allowed to use.
All our home delivery packages are in boxes from recycled carton.

Our use of energy:
In 2016 we carried out an audit of our stores in the Netherlands and Germany with the aim of measuring and reducing the energy we use. All our new stores are equipped with LED lighting and we’ve installed ‘smart meters’ into some stores to detect inefficiencies and identify where we need to take further action.

Community involvement
We financially support women in their battle against breast cancer by working with Pink Ribbon Netherlands and Pink Ribbon Germany through: