Water
The overall aim of BESTSELLER's environmental work in the supply chain is to constantly encourage our suppliers to take measures to minimise the environmental impact in the supply chain. Our Code of Conduct demands that as a minimum all environmental laws and regulations shall be followed.
Water treatment is one of the areas in our production that has the biggest impact on the environment. BESTSELLER encourages that our suppliers use water responsibly and work to minimise their water footprint.
However, the majority of our suppliers is not producing fabrics, but is purchasing fabrics from subcontractors. The fabric production process is often long and complex, and BESTSELLER does not have direct business relationships with companies in this part of the chain. This limits the influence that we have over their operations. In order to make progress and reduce the environmental impact in this part of the chain, we have prioritised our efforts to focus on what we consider to be the biggest impact; the use and treatment of water. At present we are working with the wet processing facilities of our biggest suppliers, and focusing on the waste water quality and standards at these facilities.
In 2010 we participated in a working group in the Danish Ethical Trading Initiative. Together with the Danish Ministry of the Environment this working group made a guide for Danish companies in environmental supply chain management (download here) and a handbook for their suppliers in good environmental practices (download here).