Jellycat Ltd Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement 2019/20
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 was passed in the UK in recognition that throughout the world there are offences of slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. It highlights the need for discourse and awareness of the topic and requires UK businesses to produce a statement regarding the steps they have taken throughout the financial year to demonstrate the part they have played in mitigating this issue.
We at Jellycat are determined that slavery or human trafficking in any form should not enter in to our supply chain; that the integrity with which our products are created should be upheld all the way through the manufacturing process and beyond.
We have a Head Office in London, a UK a warehouse facility, an office in Minneapolis, USA and an office in Shanghai, China. In all locations there is an awareness of the risks and senior management have a clear directive to report any concerns in relation to Modern Slavery and to act upon them without delay.
Our supply chain, the people who help us make and deliver our products, is one that that works directly with manufacturers in Asia, international shippers and 3rd party warehouses in Hong Kong, Minneapolis, USA and Shanghai, China.
Since our establishment in 1999 we have strived to develop, maintain and uphold direct and sustainable relationships with all our manufacturers and suppliers as this provides us with a transparency throughout every step of the manufacturing process. It also encourages a partnership based on honesty and openness. We have always assessed and audited any new manufacturer before any production goes ahead with the Jellycat Code of Practice (JCCOP). Subsequent annual audits are made wherever any Jellycat design is manufactured, which include worker interviews, document reviews including pay and site tours. These assessments and audits can be planned or happen unannounced and they are made by both 3rd parties and senior Jellycat personnel.
In response to our commitment to the Modern Slavery Act, in 2018 we also introduced the Jellycat Responsible Sourcing Code of Practice (JCRSCOP) to be used in conjunction with our long-standing, existing standards set out in the JCCOP. Its scope is to highlight our labour standards, in all areas of employment by the manufacturers and suppliers we work with, giving the greatest protection to those within our supply chain.
It specifies in more detail the obligation of those manufacturers and suppliers that work with us to adhere to the UK’s Modern Slavery Act (2015) ensuring there is compliance and support within the management of the 3rd party manufacturers and suppliers for its positive enforcement, embedding the understanding that Jellycat will not tolerate any form of modern slavery. All our key manufacturing partners have now signed the JCRSCOP as a contractual obligation to demonstrate their commitment to the standards we have laid out within it. During this financial year (2019/20), senior Jellycat personnel visited each key manufacturer to reiterate the contractual commitment to the JCRSCOP and gain an assurance that they have all understood how important it is to us.
Additionally we bought to the attention of our suppliers that we would ask them to be responsible to share the JCRSCOP with their main suppliers and ask them to recognise its importance to us within our supply chain. In the financial year to come (2020/21) it will be a key area for us to engage suppliers in upholding our key values.
Further in the financial year to come (2020/21) we will also broaden our scope beyond our key manufacturers and will be working with our printers who supply any packaging to also show their commitment to our JCRSCOP.
We continue to have an ongoing dialogue of direct communication with key partners within the supply chain which re-iterates the values integral to our business and that these need to be adhered to within their supply chain too. The JCCOP and the JCRSCOP are both evolving documents that we continually review and update where necessary.
Our integrity in support of the removal of modern slavery will not be compromised and any breach in the supply chain will face appropriate action.
This statement is made in reference to section 54 (1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the financial year 2019-2020.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
William Gatacre, Managing Director
