Stockmann scored most plus points in a study by Pro Ethical Trade Finland

On October 15, 2014, Pro Ethical Trade Finland published a report on how Finnish clothing companies take action to guarantee human rights in their supply chain. Companies were given plusses and minuses based on their answers. Nine Finnish clothing companies were invited to take part in the study: Kesko, L-Fashion Group, Marimekko, Nanso Group, Reima, SOK, Stockmann, Texmoda Fashion Group and Veljekset Halonen. Out of these companies, Stockmann was given the most plus points.

Plusses and minuses for Stockmann:

+ Has published factory lists as the only Finnish clothing company
+ Has signed the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building safety
+ Carries out internal audits in the factories
+ Has a course of action for potential child labor cases
– Says that a salary should be enough for living, but according to the company answer, there is not much concrete action to advance the matter

All companies were criticized for not committing to ensure living wage in their supply chain. Living wage does not have a common definition or calculation method, but it can mean a salary that is enough for sustaining the basic needs of a family of four, and that allows to save money on a small scale too.

We at Stockmann believe that increase in the national minimum wage is the key to raising wages. Meanwhile, salaries in other wage groups go up as well. We work together with other companies to enable raise in minimum salaries. We also strive to improve the living conditions by improving working conditions and benefits, for example by encouraging the factories in our supply chain to offer child care, lunch benefit or education on finance and health in the form of Heath Enables Return (HER) project.

We work actively to supervise that minimum wage is paid at the factories that we source from, and that employees proceed in pay grades as they gain job experience increases or when they move on to more demanding duties.

The Stockmann Group does not have its own factories or production facilities. Products are sourced from factories that supply for numerous other brands as well.

The report is available on the Pro Ethical Trade Finland website in Finnish: Eetin selvitys ‘Vastuullisia vaatteita’

More information: csr@stockmann.com