Quality, social standards and sustainability are the law for us – regardless of what the respective valid laws are around the world. Together with our suppliers, we have committed ourselves to meeting the goals and requirements of amfori. What they say goes. This means we take social responsibility regarding fair business practices as well as transparency, reporting and information. We conduct audits in the countries of our manufacturers and suppliers according to the amfori qualification and auditing programme.
Should a supplier show to not meet the requirements the first time around, we actively support and advise him as a way to contribute to an improvement in working conditions. What’s more, we guarantee that the amfori requirements continue to be met over time thanks to our own and neutral inspectors and their auditing process. These are, among others: TÜV-Rheinland Group, TÜV-Nord and TÜV-Süd Group, SGS, Bureau Veritas, ELEVATE, Intertek, UL VS Limited - Responsible Sourcing, ABS Quality Evaluation, and ALGI.
The aims and requirements of amfori include, among others:
- Improving social standards in supplier countries
- Observing all valid national laws, industrial minimum standards, ILO and UN conventions as well as all other relevant legal provisions
- Prohibiting child labour
- Prohibiting forced labour and disciplinary measures, such as the confiscation of passports or physical punishment
- Allowing the freedom of association and right to collective bargaining – otherwise facilitating parallel means of independent and free organisation
- Eliminating discrimination in hiring, remuneration, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement
- Paying wages for regular working hours, overtime hours and overtime differentials that meet or exceed legal minimums and/or industry standards. Providing additional disposable income in situations in which the legal minimum wage and/or industry standards do not cover living expenses
- Complying with applicable national laws and industry standards on working hours
- Ensuring a set of regulations and procedures regarding occupational health and safety
- Guaranteeing adherence to legal minimum procedures and standards regarding the environment and safety
- Providing a management system to ensure adherence to the amfori requirements
For a complete overview of the amfori requirements and objectives and the more than 2,000 member companies, please visit www.amfori.org