SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT
Our passion is to inspire people to feel good… feet first! This philosophy applies to every aspect of our business—from the design process of the footwear to the treatment of our customers. We also apply this approach to the treatment of our associates, as well as to overseas factory workers who make footwear and other products on our behalf. Respect for human rights and dignity is a cornerstone of our business, and we seek to create a workplace where all associates are treated fairly and with respect.
In an effort to ensure worker’s rights globally, our parent company, Caleres, Inc., has implemented a comprehensive labor compliance program based on the principles outlined in our Production Code of Conduct (“Code”). The Code sets forth our expectations for our suppliers, and we are committed to doing business with suppliers that meet or exceed these standards.
The primary goals of the program are the following:
- To help ensure compliance with all applicable local laws, industry standards, and Caleres’ expectations concerning, among other things, the use of child, prison, or forced labor, the proper and timely payment of wages, the reduction of health and safety hazards, and the management of working hours;
- Where noncompliance exists, to identify the root cause, and to work toward compliance by following a model of attainable, time-phased continual improvement;To monitor and promote long-term compliance with the Code and any related requirements as local law and industry standards dictate;
- To evaluate compliance with our policies, including but not limited to compliance with the Company’s standards regarding human trafficking and slavery in supply chains, we internally verify our product supply chains to evaluate and address risks of human trafficking and slavery. We also select suppliers for audit based on our risk assessment tool that helps us identify and assign risk. We then utilize both announced and unannounced audits by internal auditors as well as third party audit firms.
With each shipment of our product, our suppliers must certify that our products were manufactured in accordance with our Code and the applicable human trafficking and slavery laws of the country or countries in which they do business. This certification covers the finished product as well as product components.
We have internal policies and procedures in place to ensure appropriate education and accountability in terms of enforcing our Code. Associates who have direct responsibility for supply chain management receive training to understand what slavery and human trafficking are, and how to identify and mitigate the risk in the supply chain. In addition, procedures are in place to ensure these associates are held accountable for understanding and enforcing the principles set forth in this policy.
In summary, Caleres’ Code and program recognizes and emphasizes the dignity of workers. If you have any questions regarding our program, please send us an email.
You can download a PDF of this document here.