Traceability Policy
Supply Chain transparency and traceability of the materials used in our products are a requirement for ZIMMERMANN’s supply chain partners and necessary to meet our commitment to the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact, support the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure compliance with existing and upcoming regulations.
Traceability is defined as the ability to trace each material and process to its origin and process facility across the 4 tiers:
Tier 1 is the assembly and manufacturing of final product.
Tier 2 is the production and finishing of materials (e.g., fabric and trims) that go directly into finished product.
Tier 3 is processing of raw materials into yarn and other intermediate products.
Tier 4 is the cultivation and extraction of raw materials from the earth, plants or animals.
ZIMMERMANN requires that its suppliers make every reasonable effort to map their own supply chains and share with ZIMMERMANN information pertaining to sourcing and processing locations of materials that are used in ZIMMERMANN’s products.
We expect our suppliers to provide traceability information, upon request, for any material used in ZIMMERMANN’s products.
If objective reasons prevent traceability of all materials, suppliers should prioritise tracing the main material (any material accounting for 50% or more of the product composition).
Traceability information of Priority Materials- Cotton, Viscose, Wool and Leather- should always be provided for every style, irrespective of their percentage within the product composition.
ZIMMERMANN also requires that no cotton for its products be sourced from high-risk regions.
The provision of traceability information for the four Priority Materials is mandatory for every style.
Cotton Traceability - ZIMMERMANN suppliers providing fabrics with cotton content will be contacted by our ESG partner QIMA. QIMA will email a questionnaire with details of the season's cotton fabrics. Within the questionnaire will be a portal for documentation upload.
Viscose, Wool and Leather - ZIMMERMANN suppliers providing viscose, wool and leather are expected to provide traceability information every season onto the FibreTrace platform. Suppliers not familiar with the platform will be provided training.
Traceability information should include at a minimum: the name of the facility, its address and the process carried out. This should be supported by sufficient evidence which includes but is not limited to, invoices, transport documents, forensic testing results, official certificates (e.g., GOTS transaction certificates) and an affidavit confirming the validity of the information provided. In special cases, ZIMMERMANN can approve a self-declaration of the supplier as sufficient supporting evidence.
Traceability information for any non-priority material will be requested case by case, nonetheless the supplier is expected to have the information and any relevant evidence available to be provided upon request.
As members of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) we have committed to the Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption and are required to report on our progress annually. The document we submit to the UNGC as part of this commitment tracks our progress in the implementation of this policy.
