Reporting and assurance
We submit detailed information on our performance annually on our ethical trade performance both as part of our reporting requirements as a company within the Associated British Foods family; and through our membership of the Ethical Trading Initiative.
In 2011 we were pleased that the ETI recognised our efforts in improving our programme by categorising Primark as Leader in four out of six categories, a significant step up from our previous overall rating of Achiever.
This is a significant achievement and demonstrates the hard work and commitment made by Primark in ensuring that workers making our products are paid fairly, treated well, and work in decent conditions. However, we recognise that we still have further to go and still much more that we can do either individually at Primark or in collaboration with other retailers, NGOs and stakeholders.
The ETI recognises four progressive stages of a company’s commitment to, and performance of ethical trading. These are Foundation, Improver, Achiever, and Leader. The ETI classifies a Leader as “tackling the root causes of labour rights problems beyond individual workplaces with collaborative initiatives aimed at the sectoral level and / or in raw materials or components supply. The company can demonstrate positive impacts for workers in its supply chain and reports transparently on progress. The company is advocating for greater respect for workers’ rights throughout its sphere of influence.” Ethical Trading Initiative Management Benchmarks 2010.
The ETI Annual Report looked at Primark’s performance against a wide range of benchmarks that included our commitment to the ETI; our systems of monitoring, reporting and independent verification; awareness raising and training on ethical trading issues; improvements and corrective actions at an individual factory level; our management procedures, pricing and incentives.
To read more about our progress, please refer to the section on ETI Annual Reporting.
We also welcome feedback and analysis on our performance from external stakeholders including campaign groups and non-governmental organisations.