Modern Slavery Statement

MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT

This statement is published in accordance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the financial period of November 2018 to November 2019 and provides information on the steps Chi Chi London has taken during the year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business.

Structure, business and supply chains

Chi Chi London is an online retailer of ladies’ fashion, specialising in occasion wear dresses. Our head office, customer service team and distribution centre are based in London. The brand is sold worldwide via our own website, concessions, and wholesale partners. Our supply base currently includes our own factory, two additional tier 1 factories, all based in China, and numerous 3rd party wholesalers.

Our policies

We recognise that we have a responsibility across our supply chain to ensure our goods are made in an ethical, legal and responsible manner. In order to support this, we have formed strong working relationships with our product suppliers and require them to sign our ethical trading policy, which is based on ETI standards, as a condition of working with us. Our ethical trading policy includes:

  • Employment is freely chosen
  • Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected
  • Working conditions are safe and hygienic
  • Child labour shall not be used
  • Living wages are paid
  • Working hours are not excessive
  • No discrimination is practiced
  • Regular employment is provided
  • No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed

Due diligence & risk management

We conduct risk assessment checks to assess the conditions for stock suppliers before a partnership is confirmed by rating risk factors such as poverty, working conditions, use of subcontractors and health and safety standards. With this and, as well as, regular visits to suppliers and production site, we ensure compliance with our ethical policies on an ongoing basis.  

Where potential improvement is identified Chi Chi London will work closely with the supplier and/or factory to improve standards and will continue to monitor compliance and put in place any remediation programmes to help resolve the issues in a timely manner.

While expanding our supplier base we will continue to map our 1st supply chain, which forms part of our ongoing ethical trading efforts, and, in doing so, provides us with visibility of where our products are made. We acknowledge that it is in the nature of supply chains to be continuously evolving, we will continue to maintain a lasting relationship with our existing suppliers. One of our key aims, for 2020, is to begin mapping our supply base beyond Tier 1 and by the end of 2020 we aim to have 50% of our Tier 2 facilities mapped. We will also develop a supplier self-assessment questionnaire to further help in risk assessing any potential new suppliers and aim to have all of our current Tier 1 suppliers and any new suppliers complete this also to ensure continued compliance.

Training

The Modern Slavery Act has been an opportunity to understand the importance of human rights within our product supply chain and to extend the awareness of the issue internally across departments. All of our heads of departments will be briefed and engage in regular discussions on human rights and modern slavery.