Fair Wear Foundation
In 2019 MASCOT became a member of the Fair Wear Foundation as the first company in Denmark. Together with approximately 80 other European textile companies, which together represent almost 140 brands, MASCOT, through Fair Wear, fights to increase social responsibility and create good and safe jobs at the textile manufacturing factories around the world.
With a membership of the Fair Wear Foundation, MASCOT emphasises that sustainable solutions and good working conditions should not simply be a natural part of our business, but it should have a high focus everywhere in the textile industry. At Fair Wear’s website, you can find, among other things, our latest Brand Performance Check and the score we have achieved at the most recent check.
Own factories and external suppliers
At MASCOT’s own factories in Vietnam and Laos, good working conditions are a natural part of the day, as evidenced by our SA8000 certification of the factories. We also have our own HR team in Vietnam, which ensures proper recruitment procedures and good working conditions for our employees. To have our own production also ensures that we have a complete overview of the production. We quality check all our clothing and accessories ourselves. When we enter into a partnership with Fair Wear, the main focus is to ensure good working conditions at the factories that MASCOT doesn’t own, and which MASCOT purchases a minor proportion of goods from. Through Fair Wear, we cooperate with other textile brands, who also buy their products at the factories. With an active membership of the Fair Wear Foundation, we focus on a good working environment and decent working conditions globally in the textile industry.
Good partners
MASCOT produces more than 70% of the products at our own four SA8000 certified factories. The remaining products are produced at external manufactures with whom we have good and long-term cooperation. The external production applies especially to accessories such as kneepads and belts as well as footwear and the production of T-shirts, polo shirts and sweatshirts. These are products that are often made using a special manufacturing method or machine, which we cannot make with sewing machines in our own factories. At MASCOT, we want to further develop the good cooperation with our external manufacturers and at the same time help to create good working conditions at their factories. In this we consider our membership of the Fair Wear Foundation as an important partnership to achieve this goal.
Global partners and the 17 global goals
At MASCOT we work with the UN’s 17 global goals. Our membership of the Fair Wear Foundation is an example of global goal 17, which is about global partnerships. At MASCOT, we are aware that the challenges are best addressed in competent communities, which is why we see great potential in working with Fair Wear. As a global textile company, we have a great responsibility to safeguard people and the environment both at the production site and throughout the rest of the supply chain. This is a responsibility that we take very seriously. With our textile production, we want to offer decent jobs that help eliminate poverty and hunger as well as ensure health and well-being.
Control creates understanding
With the membership of Fair Wear, we hope that we can help spread our high focus on the environment and the employees to other companies in the textile industry. Fair Wear Foundation is working on finding solutions to problems that others believe are unsolvable. One of the core areas of Fair Wear is setting a new standard for textile production; a concept they call “A new normal”. They want to create a change in the textile industry so that all employees understand their rights to a secure, decent job with a proper pay. We follow that line of thinking at MASCOT. We do not accept compromises when it comes to the working conditions of those who produce our products.
Labour standards
The basis for the collaboration between the Fair Wear Foundation and MASCOT is the eight labour standards derived from ILO Conventions and the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights. The eight areas help ensure the employees’ rights.
Employment is freely chosen
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
No discrimination in employment
No exploitation of child labour
Payment of living wage
Reasonable hours of work
Safe and healthy working conditions
Legally binding employment relationship
With the membership of Fair Wear, it is MASCOT as a company that undertakes to take part in the responsibility of raising the working standards in the textile industry. It is a responsibility we take with pleasure and great determination.
- Mascot International USA Inc.
- 20 South Third Street, Suite 210
43215 Columbus, Ohio
EIN-No. 90-1027115 - Telephone: +45 87 24 48 20
