Suitsupply

Suitsupply is committed to applying Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within their enterprise and with their suppliers. This allows them to meet international labour standards, as stipulated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which can be achieved using Gender-Responsive Due Diligence (GRDD).  By highlighting the need for more gender-disaggregated data, Suitsupply complies with Step 2: Identify and Assess Averse Impacts.

Suitsupply is a fashion brand that focuses on expertly crafted tailoring that is done in a sustainable way. Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) recognises Suitsupply as a CSR leader amongst their members. This title is earned mainly through how the enterprise assesses their suppliers. They are also focusing more on gender equality as a pillar for these assessments, with a specific focus on living wages and freedom of association.

Actions undertaken

Suitsupply’s regular audits of their suppliers collects in-depth and gender-disaggregated data across their supply chain. In this way, the enterprise can adequately assess potential risks and impacts as well as use the data to inform the actions they can take. This data currently works to provide insights into various issues:

  • Gender distribution of the workforce, including at a management level.
  • Gender pay gap.
  • Arrangements for maternity and paternity leave and childcare support. This includes provisions for resuming work after pregnancy.
  • Literacy rates of workers and how accessible training is for them.
  • Gender policies of factories.
  • Feedback and complaint mechanisms.

“Suitsupply’s gender-responsive data collection helps to identify gender-specific risks and impacts across their supply chain”

Achievements

The impact assessments, conducted by Suitsupply, identified certain issues faced by their top ten suppliers while also analysing their gender and sustainability performance. This information is specifically requested by the enterprise as they know what data to look for and how to interpret it.

According to their 2020 Corporate Responsibility report, 100% of the factories Suitsupply sources from are monitored and 100% of new factories are screened by Suitsupply using social criteria, however they have identified the need for this data to take an even stronger gender focus for change to occur.

“Gender stereotypes have a large impact on how suppliers recognize and value women’s work and skills in the workplace. By collecting the right data we are able to identify and address these gender biases and support our suppliers in creating a more equal workplace.”

– Joy Roeterdink, CSR Manager Suitsupply

Application to other enterprises

To take their approach to the next level, Suitsupply should also apply a gender lens to all of their impact assessments and ensure that all of their suppliers and auditors know how to collect gender disaggregated data. They remain committed to continuously updating the way they collect and analyse data so that they can use the data to ensure that their whole enterprise, especially the supply chain, is sustainable and focused on gender equality. This partially aligns them with Step 4 of the GRDD process, yet thus far they have identified the need for more gender focused assessments but have not implemented this in relation to their suppliers and auditors. By thoroughly following the GRDD process, other enterprises can use Suitsupply’s approach to identifying and assessing adverse impacts but can go further by implementing and communicating these impacts across their whole enterprise.

This case study was written in collaboration with Plan International and Partnering for Social Impact.