'COVID-19

Value Chain

A key priority for us has been to ensure that the workers in our suppliers’ factories have continued to work in safe environments and have been paid their wages, as per local law. We have taken the appropriate action to provide financial support where necessary.

We worked with several of our partners and collaborated with different stakeholders in the relevant countries to encourage and where possible, facilitate access to local government funding.

To promote a safer working environment, we created and rolled out a checklist to all of our factories to ensure that they were operating safely and considering local and international guidelines as a precaution.

With our on the ground partnership with The Reassurance Network, we also carried out virtual factory visits where the primary focus was on health and safety (including personal protective equipment), policies and procedures, worker transport, accommodation and payment of wages. In FY20/21 we virtually visited46% of our factories. These virtual visits are continuing into FY21/22, so we can ensure that the workers are still working in safe environments.

Throughout the pandemic, we provided regular updates internally, so our colleagues were aware of the situation in our sourcing countries and the impact on our value chains.' - 4