July, 2023

Social sustainability

Making outdoor gear not only impacts the environment. People too. Here, we delve into Haglöfs' work on human rights and working conditions in its supply chain. 

When contemplating the subject of sustainability, it is natural to think in terms of environmental impact. Carbon footprints, pollution, waste management. But there’s another, very important aspect to sustainability that makes up a critical part of any company’s total sustainability work: the social aspect.

Why do people sometimes forget about the social aspect of sustainability? “I think we tend to only see the environment we are physically located in, and it can be easy to overlook the fact that the industry involves millions of workers around the globe. And here, unfortunately, labor and human rights risks remain in many parts of global supply chains” says Jiwon Jang.

Jiwon Jang is Haglöfs’ CSR Manager. Her job is to support Haglöfs’ work to identify and address human rights risks in its supply chain and implement its human rights commitments. She is an invaluable guide as Haglöfs navigates these commitments while continuing to produce products globally. The often-bumpy journey requires frequent reevaluation, learning, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

 

What does human rights responsibility mean for Haglöfs?

In the textile industry, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the perils of mass garment production. They are not only evident in the growing problem of textile waste, but also in the headlines exposing risks faced by workers in garment supply chains, including unsafe working conditions, excessive working hours, and insufficient wages. Increasing awareness of these problems has brought increasing pressure on brands to take more responsibility.

For Haglöfs, respecting human rights means working to identify, prevent, mitigate and remediate actual and potential adverse human rights impacts that we may cause, contribute to or be linked to through our business relationships. This work extends across our own operations and value chain. According to Jiwon, although it may appear to be a separate mission, social responsibility very much goes hand-in-hand with environmental sustainability.

“They are interdependent and should be tackled as a whole rather than separately,” she says. “We can’t say that we are happy and feel that our human rights are being appreciated without considering the environmental aspects and vice versa— sustainability really is about putting those two together.”

 

Haglöfs is a member of the Fair Wear Foundation

A prominent force working to improve conditions for workers in garment factories around the world is an NGO called the Fair Wear Foundation. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to advance workers’ rights across global supply chains. Haglöfs has been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation since 2012.

Haglöfs’ membership in the Fair Wear Foundation supports our human rights due diligence work in our garment supply chain. Fair Wear provides member brands with tools and support, and also assesses member brands’ human rights due diligence processes and systems through its Brand Performance Check. The results help Haglöfs identify areas for improvement.

Haglöfs’ next steps on human rights due diligence

Making our human rights commitments part of our business practices involves ongoing due diligence. Haglöfs assesses actual and potential human rights risks in its supply chain and works to prevent and mitigate adverse impacts and address issues that are identified.

Haglöfs also chooses to work with a consolidated pool of suppliers as that helps us to work more closely with each factory and develop closer communication. This can support closer collaboration with suppliers when risks or issues are identified and actions need to be taken.

At Haglöfs, we are committed to respecting human rights and supporting access to decent working conditions across our operations and value chain. We will continue to develop our human rights due diligence work and address identified risks and impacts.

Read more:

Haglöfs’ latest Fair Wear Brand Performance Check

Haglöfs’ Sustainability Report