Ethical policies

Inkthreadable's Ethical Policy

We're all working towards a more ethical and sustainable world. As a company, Inkthreadable is committed to making sure that everything we do is carried out ethically and we expect no less from our suppliers.

Our industry is, unfortunately, one that has a bad reputation for ties to sweatshops. We don't agree with sweatshops, and we'd love to live in a world where each employee is paid a fair wage for the work that they do. We're proud to say that our own employees are paid above the national living wage regardless of the position they hold within the company.

We believe that it's important to be aware of the ways in which garments are supplied and manufactured, and in turn, ensure that the brands we offer comply with the laws and regulations in the countries in which they operate. Inkthreadable will not knowingly trade with any brand or supplier that does not comply with these laws and regulations.

What follows are, in part, statements from the majority of the brands we offer regarding their manufacturing processes. We will always recommend our customers do their own independant research into the brands they are looking at using for fulfiling their orders through our dropshipping service; we're happy to offer advice, but ultimately its your decision which brand to use.

AWDis

"We're passionate about doing things the right way at AWDis, which is why we only use WRAP certified factories. We and our global partners have a shared commitment to fair and safe working practices throughout our supply chain. We recognise our responsibility to ensure the manufacturing methods used match the ideals of those that wear and love our products.

"We recognise that our customers and end users have a vested interest in ethical and environmental considerations when it comes to manufacturing."

Beechfield

"Beechfield Brands is firmly committed to offering good value products with industry leading quality standards, but not at the expense of any individual in the supply chain, nor with unacceptable environmental impact. Beechfield Brands do not condone the use of any forced or coerced labour and we implement a strict assessment process with our suppliers to ensure that factories meet, or exceed, applicable local standardsin terms of wages, health and safety, welfare and human rights.

"Beechfield Brands is committed to protecting the quality of the environment through sound environmental practice, ensuring that factories meet or exceed local environmental laws in an effort to reduce waste and minimise the environmental impact of their operations."

Bella & Canvas

"We are committed to maintaining and upholding responsible workplace and environmental standards. All US production and office facilities have received Platinum accreditation from WRAP. We only work with partners who share our values of a humane and safe worklace and are in the process of getting all our international facilities WRAP certified as well.

"Bella & Canvas are proud to produce responsibily made garments, manufatured in a humane, sustainable, eco-conscious way. 100% NO SWEATSHOPS.

"Our sewing floor is 100% solar powered and creates almost no landfill, everything we can't turn into a tee is either recycled or repurposed."

Continental Clothing

"Continental Clothing Co. has been running a pro-active social responsibility programme as a member of Fair Wear Foundation since early 2006. All the Company’s manufacturing facilities are regularly audited for social compliance and are running active monitoring programmes in accordance with standards advocated by the International Labour Organisation, the Ethical Trading Initiative and other international bodies. The Company publishes an annual Social Report.

"Continental Clothing Co. recognises that garment manufacturing is one of the most environmentally damaging and harmful industrial sectors on the planet, and takes decisive and often pioneering steps towards addressing the many negative impacts.

"In January 2008, Continental Clothing Co. became the first company in the world to calculate the carbon footprint and place the Carbon Reduction Label on textile products. We have reduced the carbon footprint of EarthPositive®products by around 90% through a combination of innovative product design, low impact organic agriculture, efficiency in manufacturing, and by replacing standard grid electricity with renewable wind power. We do not use carbon offsets and our footprint calculations are certified by the Carbon Trust Certifications in the U.K."

Gildan

"Gildan is committed to maintaining high ethical standards in all its operations and business practices worldwide. The Gildan Code of Conduct defines Gildan's values and acts as a framework in guiding its operations and business practices, as well as those of its contractors, consultants, agents and suppliers.

"The Gildan Genuine Stewardship programme outlines its strategic priorities in the areas of People, Environment, Community and Product. Gildan incorporates social and environmental responsibility practices into its manufacturing processes, while providing a safe, healthy workplace for all its employees.

"Our Honesty Project focuses on creating fantastic product, thoughtfully engineered for the great outdoors. In doing so we will enhance the lives of those touched by our business."

Phone cases

Our phone cases are imported from South Korea by a UK supplier. They have an ethical policy agreement which includes the following:
- Commitment to Ethical Trading
- Employment is freely chosen
- Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining respected
- Working conditions are safe and hygienic
- Child labour shall not be used
- Wages paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. In any event wages shall always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.
- No discrimination is practised
- No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
- Only workers with a legal right to work in the country should be employed

Stanley/Stella

"Since day one in 2011, Stanley/Stella has embraced the Fair Wear Foundation initiatives and has been focusing on cooperating in a responsible way with its suppliers, to the benefit of all workers. Respect for the planet is also strongly rooted in our DNA, as 100% of our cotton is certified organic (by GOTS or OCS), grown without pesticides, GMOs or chemical fertilisers. Other raw materials are also highly ranked on the “sustainability scale”: recycled polyester, Modal®, Tencel®, linen, and more.

"In order to build strong and close partnerships with production facilities, Stanley/Stella has decided to select a very limited number of factories to work with, in a limited number of countries. The members of the Stanley/Stella board have made an important step towards in- creased transparency. Based on a proposal supported by the CEO and the newly appointed Sustainability Manager, we publicly name all of our factories, giving more weight to the trans- parency objective than to the business interests of keeping confidentiality."

Vanilla

"At Vanilla we believe that business should be conducted with total respect for people and the environment. We adopt a rigorous selection process for garment manufacturers, ensuring only those that are totally committed to exceeding our high ethical standards become appointed suppliers. We have never purchased from a supplier that we haven’t inspected and approved personally.

"We do not own our factories and choose instead to build strong working relationships with carefully selected suppliers. We employ local agents and staff based in each of our garment factories whose sole focus is to ensure total compliance of our strict ethical standards for suppliers and to test fabric and finished garments at source."

Yupoong

"No matter how much we love what we do, in the grand scheme of things, we’re just making hats here. We know there are more important things in life, such as having a positive impact on our world. That especially holds true in regards to our environment. Taking short cuts to stretch out profits is just bad business. All of our raw materials and processes are carefully selected and monitored to ensure they are not harming our planet.

"We look to tough European standards as our benchmark, as well as companies whose environmental policies we admire. So you can rest assured that our hats stand for both quality and environmentally sound business practices."