We work with factories and artisans around the world depending on the product involved.

In relation to garments, the majority are made in China. We also make garments in Vietnam, Portugal, India, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

Most of our footwear is made in Italy, by expert craftspeople in long established factories known for their quality.

Many of our accessories are made by artisan workshops and co-operatives.

We have sourced and developed handmade accessories from cooperatives based in Madagascar, Morocco and the Philippines. Because this type of work usually takes place in non-traditional and decentralised workspaces, we have partnered with Nest to conduct wage and workplace diagnostics to ensure worker well-being.

Some examples of the cooperatives are below:

• In Madagascar we produce raffia finished materials, which are made into bags, visors and footwear uppers. This facility has been a long-term ZIMMERMANN supplier and we are dedicated to laying a solid foundation for their future participation in Nest’s Ethical Handcraft Program.  
• In Morocco we partner with a handmade leather and raffia bag cooperative which is SA8000 certified.
• In the Philippines our cane and raffia bag maker is part of the Nest Artisan Guild.

Our supply chain distribution in FY 2023:

We have established strong commercial relationships with many of our suppliers, some of which have worked with us for over ten years and account for over 60% of our Tier 1 spend (Primary Suppliers).

A significant proportion of our Primary Suppliers’ business is for ZIMMERMANN.

No, ZIMMERMANN does not own/operate any factories.

ZIMMERMANN has strict requirements on health and safety, human rights and the fair, lawful and respectful treatment of workers in supplier factories. These are based on the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) code and include freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, while banning all forms of forced or compulsory labour (Modern Slavery), child labour and discrimination.

As outlined above, we use various tools to communicate and uphold these requirements, starting with our Supplier Code of Conduct – we require all our suppliers to follow this code, and commit to its principles and framework. We include our Code of Conduct in the body of our supplier agreements rather than having it as a separate agreement, reflecting the fact that it is a key term of the commercial relationship. Find it here.

Open communication and constant review are key, and we work closely with our business partners to ensure that not only are these standards being met but that the process to achieve them meets our corporate and social obligations internationally. We also work with third-party auditors, Non-Government Organisations and accreditors to ensure these standards and processes are being upheld.

In addition, we launched a Capacity-Building Programme in 2021 to support Tier 2 site managers in implementing the requirements set out in our Supplier Code of Conduct. The first phase of the programme launched in June 2021 with training sessions on labour standards and health & safety (H&S). The workshop-style sessions provided the attendees with insights into practical steps for continuous improvement in the areas of wage, working hours, social protection and H&S. After the training, each mill submitted a roadmap to address their key challenges in those areas, and we are currently supporting them through the implementation phase. The second phase of the programme began in FY23 to extend the programme to new facilities and deliver follow-up workshops to sites that had participated in phase one. We committed to extending the programme to at least 50% of our nominated Tier 2 supply chain by spend by 2025. We were able to increase the reach of the programme beyond 50% already in the first year. 

We use worker engagement as an integral part of our factory audit process through technology-supported anonymous surveys to collect the workers’ viewpoints across four indicators, including labour standards, health & safety, environmental stewardship and management systems. Participants are encouraged to complete the survey away from the workplace, and the answers are anonymous. Since its launch in December 2020, the survey has been completed by 1019 supply chain workers.

Survey Findings (surveys completed between July 2022 and June 2023):

Lastly, we have rolled out an independent grievance mechanism in eleven factories in China that have been chosen due to their strategic role in our supply chain accounting for approximately 50% of our finished goods spend. The grievance mechanism has been set up to meet the effectiveness criteria described in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Our suppliers are required to pass an independent, ethical standards audit. In addition, we aim for each supplier to be visited regularly, in person, by an appropriate member of the ZIMMERMANN team.

We have engaged an independent third party to conduct audits, which assess social and environmental compliance and the implementation of our Supplier Code of Conduct in Tier 1 and 2 production facilities. To avoid audit fatigue, we do not re-audit sites that, in the same year, have already been audited by other companies if we have access to the audit results and corrective action plans.    

When we onboard a new supplier, the timeframe of the audit is based on a risk assessment. Following the first audit, if no critical issues have been identified, the supplier is reaudited after two years. Between audits, we continue engaging the supplier on the code implementation through regular communication.

82% of our Tier 1 factories and 16% of Tier 2 mills have been audited between July 2021 and June 2023.

In case of critical issues in Tier 1, we set a time-bound Corrective Action Plan with the factory management and adopt shorter audit cycles to ascertain that corrective action has effectively been implemented. In Tier 2, suppliers are enrolled in the ZIMMERMANN Capacity Building Programme, which assists them in the effective implementation of corrective action and continuous improvement strategies. Tier 2 supply chains are less commonly audited in the industry, hence the need for additional capacity-building work before and after the audit. 

It is not uncommon for issues to be found following an audit - it shows they are effective. These are mostly minor, for example scissors not being tied to a desk, but may include more serious problems such as excessive overtime. To resolve these issues, we take a collaborative approach and work to resolve them in a reasonable time frame.

Corrective Action Plans are designed to resolve issues that directly affect the safety and well-being of factory employees. All parties are aware that if, after extensive communication, major failures continue, we may need to end the relationship with the factory.

We actively support our suppliers throughout the implementation of the Corrective Action Plan to maximise the opportunities for a prompt resolution of any issue identified. The Capacity-Building Programme that we have built for our tier 2 mills guides the site management through practical steps to improve labour and health & safety standards.

ZIMMERMANN is a member of the United Nations Global Compact and therefore has declared support for the Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

We are committed to engaging in collaborative projects which advance the broader principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including education, ocean conservation, anti-slavery and climate action.

We are proud members of Better Cotton to improve cotton farming globally. Better Cotton trains farmers to care for the environment and respect workers’ rights and wellbeing.

We have joined the NEST Coalition for Craft and Culture. In 2017, NEST was recognised by the United Nations for their Compliance for Home and Small Workshops methodology, which focuses on the social and economic advancement of global artisans and homeworkers. The NEST program helps us identify and map artisan cooperatives to improve craft worker welfare and working conditions.

To further develop our transparent relationships with skilled craftspeople who are home-workers within our Tier 1 supply base, we engaged Elevate (a globally recognised firm specialising in social, environmental and worker engagement) to scope an audit specifically focusing on the social welfare and working conditions of these workers.

When COVID 19 had significant impacts on garment workers, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) mobilised a Call to Action (Covid-19: Action in the Global Garment Industry) for the fashion industry to collectively support manufacturers to survive the economic disruption and protect garment workers’ income, health and employment. We responded to the Call to Action to support the ILO’s aims, which were focused on 8 priority countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Haiti and Ethiopia. 

Audits verify a broad range of performance indicators to ensure that production sites operate in compliance with social and environmental laws and international standards, including guidance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Beyond compliance with health and safety, wage and working hours regulations, our audits assess and verify that workers are treated fairly and their rights are upheld.

We check that employment is freely chosen and workers have signed an employment contract that clearly details their rights and entitlements.

We also check that employers do not restrict their employees’ right to form independent, worker-led associations, join unions and bargain collectively. This is important to ensure that workers are empowered to drive the resolution of workplace issues.  

Our suppliers are required to have transparent systems in place for effective and confidential communication between workers and management. Our audits check that these systems exist, that workers are aware of them and feel comfortable using them to raise issues or concerns without fear of reprisal.

Since December 2020, we have used technology-supported anonymous surveys integral to our audit process to collect the supply chain workers’ voice across indicators pertaining to working conditions and health and safety on site. 

In addition to anonymous surveys, we have rolled out an independent grievance mechanism in eleven of our factories in China, which account for approximately 50% of our finished goods spend. 

To provide a grievance mechanism aligned with the effectiveness criteria described in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we partnered with an organisation having over a decade of experience designing and implementing helplines and supporting remediation.

Wages at our Tier 1 and 2 partner facilities are validated annually by a third-party certified auditing firm. The lawful wage for the region is noted as part of the audit, and a sample group of employees’ wages are scrutinised across a three-month period.

We have created a management worksheet to accurately assess when an audit highlights a potential wage issue so we can effectively implement a Corrective Action Plan with the supplier. It is helpful that we have long-term working relationships with many of our suppliers, so are able to collaboratively engage with the senior management to make any necessary corrections or changes.

According to wage records collected during the audits, our tier 1 factories pay their workers above the legal hourly minimum wage. In addition to the wage assessment conducted as part of the audits, we are working to assess any gaps between the current wage paid to workers and the living wage. We are committed to seasonal purchasing practices reviews to ensure our practices do not impact our suppliers’ ability to pay their workers a living wage.

We have created a three-step process for identifying and onboarding new suppliers. It begins with assessing the quality of their work and their ability to deliver on the creative vision, but it is also vitally important for us to make sure they understand and share our social and environmental priorities. The second phase is pre-engagement, where the relationship is formalised by the supplier becoming familiar with, and signing, our Supplier Agreement, which incorporates our Supplier Code of Conduct. The third phase is onboarding, which includes sustainability training, procedure manuals and the completion of a self-assessment questionnaire that looks at labour standards and specific risks relating to human rights.

As part of the self-assessment, we ask the supplier to provide a recent audit report (an audit report that is not older than one year). Suppliers that have never been audited or do not have a recent audit report will undergo a ZIMMERMANN audit.

In early 2020, we created a Pandemic Action Plan to manage our immediate response to the crisis. The plan is based on constant communication and ensuring supplier confidence in our goal to remain a long-term business partner. The steps to the plan are:

• Reach out and listen: What do our suppliers need? Offer support and enquire as to the state of the health of the owners, management, workers and their families;
• Health first: Ensure the management are following government-recommended hygiene standards in the factory;
• Monitor: Request self-assessment and transparency on working conditions;
• Assess & discuss: Assess current and future orders against current capacity and agree workable timelines;
• Double-check: Execute an interim third-party audit to ensure key working conditions and standards are being met;
• Collaborate: Implement a mutually workable payment plan ensuring the suppliers’ cash-flow allows their business to function.

We take a holistic and long-term approach. Our suppliers are our partners, and we are invested in them remaining viable during and after this crisis.

We have joined the Nest Coalition for Craft and Culture, a coalition of design-led brands with a shared commitment to responsible and creative engagement with the global handcraft community. The Coalition is leading the industry by:

• Introducing responsibly sourced handmade techniques and materials into contemporary collections;
• Supporting a globalised industry that celebrates cultural diversity and appreciation;
• Pushing design boundaries to give new life to craft techniques that may be in danger of dying out, countering loss of culture; and
• Furthering global gender equity by bringing meaningful work to women and marginalized communities limited in their abilities to work outside the home.

We currently make bags with a supplier in the Philippines who is part of the NEST Artisan Guild.  In 2021, we asked our Moroccan and Madagascan suppliers to take part in NEST’s Diagnostic & Wage Assessment program - this was funded by ZIMMERMANN. 

In addition to submitting our Modern Slavery Statement under Australian legislation, we ensure our staff and supplier management and their employees are knowledgeable about the threats related to the environment, human rights and modern slavery in the wider supply chain, so they are better able to identify potential issues and risk. As a first step to raise awareness of this topic within our organisation, we have provided online training to all employees globally and additional training sessions for teams with procurement responsibilities. Our Human Rights Policy is provided to all employees upon joining the organisation, and a copy of the policy is available here.

ZIMMERMANN requires that working conditions in its supply chain are safe, and that workers are treated lawfully and with respect and dignity. Our Supplier Code of Conduct is based on the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code and the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation and sets out the required standards and conditions of doing business with ZIMMERMANN. These are: freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour – Modern Slavery; the effective abolition of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. 

To reiterate the requirements of our Code of Conduct and our zero-tolerance approach for any form of modern slavery, we delivered training to our tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers to raise awareness of modern slavery-related risks in the fashion supply chain, define a due-diligence process to ensure that risks are understood and managed appropriately, and reaffirm our transparency requirements.

The training was attended by 43 suppliers, which represent 87% of our garments and accessories spend and 81% of our fabrics and trims spend.