British outdoor brands Rab and Lowe Alpine, owned by Equip Outdoor Technologies UK Ltd., are now approved members of Fair Wear Foundation. Fair Wear is an independent multi-stakeholder organization that works with garment brands, garment workers and garment industry influencers to improve labour conditions in garment factories.
Rab and Lowe Alpine called the membership “an important milestone within their corporate responsibility strategy, underlining the brands’ commitment to improving their ethical, social and environmental standards and their responsibility towards their stakeholders and community.”
Debbie Read, corporate social responsibility manager at Equip, explained: “As brands, we want to do our best to ensure social and environmental sustainability and also be meaningful, open and transparent about what we do. Being a Fair Wear member strengthens our commitment to improve the lives and working conditions of those on the factory floor. Especially now that Covid-19 is having a significant impact on lives and businesses it’s our responsibility to continue to ensure that we are protecting all the people in our supply chain.”
The overall aim of Fair Wear membership is to constantly improve labor conditions along the full supply chain. Every year, the brands’ efforts are reviewed by measuring how well they have assessed, identified and resolved issues with their suppliers in the past year. In a first step, Equip will now prepare for the first Brand Performance Check which happens after the first year of membership. Afterwards, a roadmap for further action is drafted which guides the brands through their next steps.