This week, I'm considering the social and ethical conditions of the people who create Po Campo's products and set out to write a Code of Conduct to ensure that our suppliers have good working conditions.
Here's our final Code of Conduct! Did I leave anything out? Please comment below.
Po Campo's Code of Conduct
This document deals with the standards of conduct and behavior, which Po Campo sees as fundamental to our business. Po Campo expects all vendors of merchandise meet the following standards:
Association
Vendors will respect the rights of employees to associate, organize and bargain collectively in a lawful and peaceful manner, without penalty or interference.
Child Labor
Vendors will not use child labor. Vendors must not employ any person under the minimum legal working age applicable to their country, and under no circumstances must they employ anybody under the age of 16 years.
Discrimination
Vendors must not discriminate in hiring, compensating, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, colour, religion, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation or political opinion.
Environment
Vendors must comply with all applicable environment laws and regulations.
Forced Labor
Vendors will not use any forced or involuntary labor, whether prisoner, bonded, indentured or otherwise. Vendors will treat each employee with dignity and respect, and will not use corporal punishment, threats of violence or other forms of physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse.
Remuneration
Vendors will, at a minimum, comply with all applicable wage and hour laws and regulations, including those relating to minimum wages, overtime, maximum hours, piece rates and other elements of compensation, and provide legally mandated benefits.
Vendors will compensate employees for overtime hours at such premium rate as is legally required or, if there is no legally prescribed premium rate, at a rate at least equal to the regular hourly compensation rate.
Subcontracting
Vendors will not use subcontractors for the manufacture of Po Campo merchandise or components thereof until the subcontractor has signed to confirm to comply with this Code of Conduct.
Working Hours
Vendors will not require employees to work more than the limits on regular and overtime hours allowed by local law. Employees will be entitled to at least one day off in every seven-day period.
More resources about writing a Code of Conduct
Want to take a stab at creating your own Code of Conduct? I recommend starting with B Corporation's "Creating a Supplier Code of Conduct" guide.
Interested in reading REI's full Factory Code of Conduct? You can find it on their website.
