B&B Ethics
A fundamental aspect of our work ethic means every
effort to help conserve the environment in which we
all live.
By buying our cotton products, you can give your customers
the peace of mind that they are doing their bit for
the environment, without compromising on their sense
of style.
That is why we are committed to following fair practices
and ensuring everyone involved in every stage of the
production of our clothing works in the best possible
conditions. We ensure that all workers are paid fairly,
we do not employ anyone who is underage and we respect
legal working hours.
Taking an ethical stance on labour allows us to maintain
the highest levels of quality in our garments, passing
the benefit of these policies into you and your customers.
We are proud to announce that items 421 and 570 are
certified Organic and conform to GOTS (Global Organic
Textile Standards). Items 577 and 576 are Fair Trade
certified.
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is a voluntary
processing standard developed to work towards bringing
global uniformity to sustainable textile processing.
It is a world-wide recognised requirement that ensures
organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw
materials, through environmentally and socially responsible
manufacturing up to the labelling in order to provide
a credible assurance to the end customer, certified
by the Soil Association.
Cotton: 100% free from synthetic fertilisers, soil
additives and genetic modifications. Our refusal to
use these will go some way to help restore the environments
natural balance.
Fair-Trade: We are pleased to announce we have been
accredited by the Fair-trade Organization. This is a
product certificate system designed to allow people
to identify products that meet agreed environmental,
labour and developmental standards. These are overseen
by a standard setting body Fair-trade Labelling Organizations
(FLO) International and a certification body FLO Cert.
All our procedures were audited to ensure agreed standards
were met.
Ethical code summary
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Working conditions are in line with Government
Regulations and Industry Standards;
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Employees participation and responsibility are
encouraged, and their skills and capabilities through
training is increased;
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A transparent and effective grievance procedure
is in place;
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Policies and procedures for Health and Safety meet
local requirements and protect the well-being of
employees;
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For employees to work as forced or coerced is prohibited
– working hours/ rest periods are regulated
and administered. Employees are not forced to work
overtime;
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All employee earnings are in line with the Government
Regulations and Industry Standard;
o No employment of children is allowed;
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There should be constructive dialogue between workers
and management. Employees are free to join lawful
associations;
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Suppliers comply with local environmental laws,
and show sensitivity to other environmental issues
that may impact upon either local communities;
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Whilst being sensitive to cultural differences
we expect the development of equal opportunities
in employment without discrimination on grounds
of race, religion and gender or any other arbitrary
means;
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Workers do not suffer bullying or harassment in
the workplace;
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Workers are not discriminated against for using
any grievance procedure;
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Working does not jeopardise the educational, physical
or social development of a people;
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The company and key suppliers give workers holiday,
sick and maternity leave in line with or exceeding
national laws;
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The company’s social responsibilities do
not just lay within the business activities but
support environmental and infrastructure projects
but support environmental and infrastructure projects
of the local and regional authorities that improve
the living conditions of the workers.
About Fairtrade
Development agencies recognised the important role
that consumers could play to improve the situation for
producers. By buying direct from farmers at better prices,
helping to strengthen their organisations and marketing
their produce directly through their own one world shops
and catalogues, the charities offered consumers the
opportunity to buy products which were bought on the
basis of a fair trade.
Fairtrade Labelling was created in the Netherlands in
the late 1980s. The Max Havelaar Foundation launched
the first Fairtrade consumer guarantee label in 1988
on coffee sourced from Mexico.
Today FLO co-ordinates Fairtrade Labelling in 20 countries
including the UK.
The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label
which appears on products as an independent guarantee
that disadvantaged producers in the developing world
are getting a better deal.
For a product to display the FAIRTRADE Mark it must
meet international Fairtrade standards. These standards
are set by the international certification body Fairtrade
Labelling Organisations International (FLO).
Producer organisations that supply Fairtrade products
are inspected and certified by FLO. They receive a minimum
price that covers the cost of sustainable production
and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic
development projects.
The Fairtrade Foundation licenses the FAIRTRADE Mark
to products in the UK which meet FLO standards. The
supplier (brand-owner or main national distributor)
must sign the Foundation’s Licence Agreement which
provides a licence to use the Mark.
About Soil Association
The Soil Association exists to research, develop and
promote sustainable relationships between the soil,
plants, animals, people and the biosphere, in order
to produce healthy food and other products while protecting
and enhancing the environment.
The Soil Association is the UK's leading campaigning
and certification organisation for organic food and
farming. Whether you are new to the Soil Association
or want to know more about what we do and why we do
it, this section explains all.
The Soil Association was founded in 1946 by a group
of farmers, scientists and nutritionists who observed
a direct connection between farming practice and plant,
animal, human and environmental health.
Today the Soil Association is the UK's leading organic
organisation, with over 180 staff based in our Bristol
headquarters, in regional centres and working as certification
inspectors across the country. The Soil Association's
director is Patrick Holden, who reports to the Council
of Trustees.
The Soil Association symbol can be found on over 70%
of Britain's organic produce - a guarantee that it has
been grown or produced to the highest standards of organic
integrity. We also undertake certification of timber
and wood products.
Soil Association Certification Ltd enforces these standards
through certification and regular inspections of producers,
processors and suppliers.
Production
 
We have co-operations with factories in India, in Turkey
for the last ten years and our own factory in the UK.
Our factory in India is a family-owned company that
has a long history of manufacturing in India. The company
has been working with cotton since 1006, and been involved
in organic cotton since 1999. The company has an excellent
reputation worldwide for its quality production and
strong social and environmental standards.
The goal of our factory is to continually increase
its use of organic cotton, and to play a key role in
its global growth. The mill already has lines fully
dedicated to producing 100% organic cotton yarns, so
that manufacturing efficiencies are maximized. By 2006
the company had one full floor of its sewing factory
doing only 100% organic cotton, and by 2010, the factory
plans to be using 10,000 tons of organic cotton.
Our factory is driven by a strong vision and deep commitment
to organic principles. The mill is the world’s
mostly vertically integrated textile manufacturing company,
going from raw material to finished products, including
cotton fibre production, spinning, knitting, dyeing
and finishing, and apparel manufacturing.
The Vasudha Organic Cotton Project: Vasudha is the
name given to the organic cotton farming project that
the factory started in 1999, in an area just 80 km from
the factory in Indore.
The Vasudha project is a large scale organic farming
program run by our factory, and covering 55,000 acres
of farmland. The project grows certified organic cotton
to produce fine finished knit fabrics. It encourages
increased environmental sensibilities among workers
and staff, generates direct and indirect employment,
and ensures the health and welfare of the farmers and
their families.
The factory takes a very active role in ensuring the
success of the Vasudha project:
o 40 full-time technical support to farmers through
agronomists, technical consultants and extension supervisors
who:
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regular monitoring of farming activities
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guidance to farmers on improving their farming
practices for increased yields, waste management
and recycling, natural fertilizer preparation, pest
management, human and animal care
-
educational programs and seminars
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subsidizing organic seed prices and supply of other
organic inputs
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investing in drip irrigation systems
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helping farmers and their families with health
care
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skills training for women in the local villages
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financial support to local schools, old age homes,
cattle sheds
By helping farmers reduce their input costs, paying
them a premium for their organic cotton, and providing
consistent demand for the fiber, our factory has a very
direct positive impact on the farming families in the
region.
As of 2005, the Vadudha project involved 2,700 farmers.
This translates to a direct improvement to the lives
of roughly 15,000 people, in addition to the general
ehalth and economic benefits that extend to everyone
living in the local communities.
The mill takes its commitment to a healthy planet seriously.
In addition to the Vasudha Organic Cotton Project the
company is continually working to minimize its impact
on the environment:
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The mill is certified as 100% pollution free by
the state authority
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Highly efficient effluent treatment and reverse-osmosis
plants (85% of contaminated water is recycled, and
the rest evaporated; no effluent leaves the mill)
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Flue gas and waste water heat is recaptured for
steam generation
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Cotton dust from spinning, and cafeteria food waste
is recovered and converted to high quality compost
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Use of low impact dyes and chemicals, as permitted
by the Global Organic Textile Standard
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Low-liquor dyeing technology: the factory will
be investing in the latest low liquor dyeing technology
to bring down water consumption to 25 liters of
water/kg of fabric, while the regular industry rate
is 100 liter
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Increasing the potential to avoid and sequester
greenhouse gases through organic agriculture
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Increasing the use of Bio-Gas in villages, as a
substitute for fossil fuels
Certifications include
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