OUR COMMITMENTS – PILLAR #1
TRACEABILITY AND
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The quest for fair pricing must never impact on quality. We meticulously monitor where our products come from and all our partners have to respect our requirements to ensure the health and safety of their employees and our customers. Wherever we manufacture, we have a team in place to ensure that our commitments are met and to help our suppliers adopt a progressive approach.
Implementing a monitoring plan
Following an audit of social and environmental practices in our partner factories undertaken by an external service provider in 2012, we created a unit dedicated to compliance. It has set up a monitoring programme in each country we operate in to oversee production quality and working conditions. In 2015, we engaged with all our producers in Bangladesh and now they all are working with us on our continuous improvement initiative. This programme has been rolled out in India, Cambodia and, most recently, China.
Our compliance team is helping our suppliers to manage their work and the safety of the staff in their workshops.
In the first instance, the team carries out a pre-audit. Then, depending on what type of action is required, the producer is given a period of up to six months to implement any necessary improvements. As we are interested in solid partnerships and long-term collaboration, we don’t stop at monitoring—we support any partner who needs it by providing expert local assistance on quality issues (working conditions at all stages of the production chain, product safety, environment, etc.).
We only work with suppliers who respect our high standards
Because we are interested in solid partnerships and long-term collaboration with our suppliers, we also offer them technical support. Not only does our local team help them to work better, it shares its technical skills with their workers. As we know that introducing change is not an immediate process, we commit to maintaining our orders throughout the transition period. Once complete, a certified third-party organisation performs a compliance audit to inspect the changes.
Key dates
In 2013, we set out our requirements, which include :
- a GÉMO code of conduct to ensure that our workshops respect local legislation in terms of child labour, health and safety, minimum wage, workers’ rights and healthcare;
- a toxicology charter;
- and a child safety guarantee to certify that all products designed for children meet the applicable European standards in this area.
Our aim was to audit every single one of our workshops in Bangladesh. Mission accomplished—they all meet the requisite international standards.
Launch of our monitoring plan in India, to be gradually rolled out in all our countries of production.
Roll-out in all other Asian production countries.
Roll-out in North Africa and Europe.
Safe, healthy products
Protecting the health of our customers and our employees
We rigorously respect international regulations designed to ensure that only safe, healthy products are released on the market.
Every product released on the market must satisfy our stringent requirements. Our suppliers must ensure that certain substances are restricted or prohibited in accordance with European regulations such as REACH and those relating to biocides and persistent organic pollutants. In addition, we ban the use of any substance that our experts consider a risk to health.
Our suppliers must only have their products tested in accredited laboratories, approved by us. We are testing a growing number of products and 100% of our baby collections are already tested, along with 95% of the rest of our collections.
Because we want a solid relationship with our partners, we offer information and awareness training and conferences on progressive approaches to product safety.
In March 2019, we launched the first Mieux by Gémo collection, designed for the whole family. It features almost 300 mixed products (clothing, footwear and accessories) for the summer season 2019. The collection comprises two fabrics:
- 85% organic cotton
- 15% recycled materials
1. Organic cotton
It is grown in an environmentally friendly way that respects biodiversity and the working conditions of the people who produce it. It is grown using natural fertilisers and pesticides and without the use of GMOs, which preserves the biodiversity and fertility of the soil and the health of the people who harvest and wear it.
2. Recycled materials
Polyamide and polyester.
Both of these materials are made from recycled plastic fibres (used plastic bottles). Giving these products a second life helps to reduce waste. The regenerated fibres have the same properties as virgin polyester, i.e. they are robust, durable and can be recycled again. Polyamide is a more elastic fabric that can be found in tights or in the lace on lingerie, for example.
ALL OUR “MIEUX” INITIATIVES
And that’s not all
For a better, more responsible fashion future, here are some of the other exciting projects we are working on with our employees, suppliers and/or customers.
Come and visit the Gémo container
Come and visit the Gémo containerAre you on holiday this summer near Mimizan in Les Landes? Visit us in our container on the beach! A project developed by a dozen or so employees to be even closer to our customers and meet the needs of the whole family! The aim is to...
Work with us to create the ideal baby suitcase for the holidays
Work with us to create the ideal baby suitcase for the holidaysAt the beginning of March 2018 at Gémo headquarters, our children's textile team met 15 mothers to discuss a theme in a co-creation project: "The ideal baby suitcase for the holidays." A beautiful...
Charity Clearance Sale: an action that is gaining ground…
Charity Clearance Sale: an action that is gaining ground...At the head office and in the stores, more and more Gémo employees are getting involved in our charity clearance sales. This commitment is perfectly in line with our CSR initiative, the third pillar of which...
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