hessnatur-Textilien GmbH

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hessnatur is a German mail order company specialised in selling ecological products with a focus on garments. hessnatur has been a member of FWF since 2005. 

• Brand Performance Check September 2010
• Brand Performance Check September 2011
• Brand Performance Check September 2012

hessnatur meets most of FWFs management system requirements.

The purchasing practices of the company generally support implementation of the Code of Labour Practices.

Since the previous performance check hessnatur has decreased the number of suppliers by approximately 20% (from 102 to around 80). The company would like to have more leverage at a smaller group of strategic suppliers. In order to tie the suppliers and the production sites closer to hessnatur, the ambition is to visit production sites in person more often. In 2012 hessnatur implemented changes in its order planning process that may have a positive effect on reductions in overtime in factories.

hessnatur has developed a method on how to work on monitoring their supply chain that is implemented in a systematic way. These activities include hessnatur’s own audits (the hessnatur screens), audits by local FWF teams or active follow up of audit reports that refer to other standards. Audits by FWF teams are generally prioritised in the follow up process. According to the supplier register supplied by hessnatur, around 92% of the total FOB purchasing value of hessnatur is sourced from production sites in low risk countries, or from production sites that have been audited in the last 3 years. This means that hessnatur meets FWFs requirement for monitoring working conditions in factories. hessnatur has a very systematic way to keep track of corrective action plans and in following up on them.

37% of the 2011/2012 purchasing volume of hessnatur is produced in low risk countries (Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Slovenia). 56% of the value of products is sourced from suppliers where the relation started 2007 or previous years. hessnatur actively monitors working conditions at production sites that are located in low risk countries by carrying out a hessnatur screen on site. By doing so, the company goes beyond FWFs requirements for monitoring working conditions in low risk countries.

In 2011-2012 hessnatur enrolled several of its suppliers in China and Turkey into FWFs workplace education programme (WEP).

For hessnatur, the most important improvement issue is to ensure that the translated version of FWFs Code of Labour Practices including contact information of the local complaints handler was posted in the workplace.

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