Monica Vinader Modern Slavery Act Statement

Introduction

Monica Vinader maintains a longstanding commitment to responsible and sustainable business practices, including respect for human rights.  

We welcome the transparency that the Modern Slavery Act requires, and we are committed to combating slavery, forced labour, human trafficking and other unlawful and/or unethical practices throughout our business and our supply chains.

Organization’s Structure and Business

Since its debut in 2008, Monica Vinader has developed an internationally-renowned luxury jewellery brand, operating from office space in Norfolk and London, and boutiques globally as well as on-line.  The Company has since won a number of awards, including - Brand of the Year at the UK Jewellery Awards, Retail Jeweller Ethical Jeweller of the Year, The Queens Award for Enterprise Sustainable Development, Positive Luxury Responsible Luxury Business of the Year & Marie Claire Best Sustainable Luxury Jewellery Brand. Its products are now stocked by global luxury retailers including Selfridges, Liberty, Net-A-Porter and Nordstrom.  

Our Supply Chain

One of our core values is respect for all those with whom we work. Our supply chain encompasses the provision of goods and services, both within and outside the U.K.  We engage with approximately 7 suppliers of valuable metals, gemstones and diamonds used in the manufacture of our products (“Product Suppliers”). Such Product Suppliers currently operate factories operating in India, Thailand and Italy.  

Our Commitment to Human Rights

Monica Vinader is committed to ensuring there is no slavery, forced labour or human trafficking occurring in our supply chains, or indeed any other part of our business.  

We expect our employees to uphold the firm’s core values of excellence, integrity and social responsibility encompassed in our Responsible Business Policy.  In addition, we actively encourage employees to raise any behaviors or activities they believe to be unlawful or unethical in any part of our business or operations.

We also expect all our suppliers to adhere to the highest legal and ethical standards, and to operate free from discrimination, slavery, forced labour and human trafficking.  

We aim to ensure our Product Suppliers in particular meet these high standards by a combination of the following:

1. Supplier Social Compliance

All suppliers undergo an annual workplace conditions assessment (WCA) audit, conducted by Intertek.  WCA is a social compliance audit which tracks and evaluates key areas such as labour, wages, health and safety, management systems and environment conditions (http://www.intertek.com/business-assurance/supplier-management/workplace-conditions/).  Our suppliers are notified of any non-conformance concerns and performance is monitored appropriately including follow up audits, to ensure that standards are met.  Audits are undertaken at least every 12 months.

2. Supplier Visibility

Consistent with standard anti-corruption/bribery practices, we believe firmly in the value of due diligence, and the importance of getting to know our suppliers well in order to build long-term relationships based on trust and integrity.  To that end, we work collaboratively with our manufacturers in [India,Thailand and Italy], scheduling regular visits, at least quarterly, by our UK-based Supplier Management team.

3. Contractual Clauses

Our supplier agreement further requires our suppliers to confirm that they have not been investigated for, or convicted of, offences involving corruption of breach of human rights laws and standards.  In addition, suppliers are required to implement their own transparent due diligence programmes in order to ensure that none of their sub-contractors or suppliers are engaged directly or indirectly in slavery or human trafficking.

Next Steps

We will continue periodically to assess the issues of slavery and human trafficking within our organization