California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Disclosure Statement
The Body Shop has developed and maintains a number of policies to protect the human rights of people involved in our operations and supply chains, including our own Employee Code of Conduct, Supplier Code of Conduct, and Sustainable Sourcing Charter (collectively, “Policies”). These Policies all aim to ensure that people working for us, and for our direct and indirect suppliers, receive fair treatment and decent working conditions.
Our Supplier Code of Conduct, through which we aim to prevent labor exploitation in our supply chains, requires our suppliers to comply with all laws and regulations in each country in which they operate, or in which The Body Shop operates, as well as with company procedures and policies. Our Supplier Code of Conduct also requires that all The Body Shop suppliers adhere to an absolute prohibition on the use of involuntary labor of any kind, including child labor and indentured labor, as well as agree that their workers’ employment is freely chosen, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected, working conditions are safe and hygienic, wages are paid, working hours are not excessive, and no harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed.
All suppliers must sign a commitment to our Supplier Code of Conduct and The Body Shop has the right to monitor compliance through audits and unannounced inspections of facilities by third party monitors as well as by The Body Shop representatives. For example, our Ethical Trade Program monitors working conditions at our suppliers’ facilities and our own against our strict codes of conduct. This includes self-assessment, risk assessment (by country, sector and type of product or ingredient) and site visits. Our program also requires suppliers to undergo an ethical trade audit from an independent third party auditor before we source from them. Our expectations of suppliers (and our commitments to them), including our Sustainable Sourcing Charter and Ethical Trade Program, are detailed in our Supplier Handbook, available to suppliers here.
In addition, as part of our Supplier Code of Conduct, our direct and indirect suppliers may not harass, discriminate against or retaliate against any worker because of his or her race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, personal characteristics or beliefs or other category protected by applicable law.
To maintain internal accountability for ensuring that our ethical trade standards are upheld, the Policies are documented and available online for the company’s employees and suppliers. In addition, The Body Shop employees undergo regular training on ethical trade requirements.
Our suppliers are required to maintain on site documentation regarding their compliance with our Supplier Code of Conduct and permit full access to facilities for the inspection of worker records. Suppliers must also make workers available for confidential interviews without fear of retaliation.
Compliance with our Supplier Code of Conduct is mandatory for The Body Shop suppliers. We reserve the right to assess any supplier, and their facilities, to ensure they are in compliance. The Body Shop also reserves the right to terminate its business relationship with any supplier that violates the law, The Body Shop’s Supplier Code of Conduct, or any other applicable company policy and/or fails to remediate areas of non-compliance.