At UncommonGoods, when we purchase products for our customers, we want to ensure that all items are made by workers who are treated ethically and that the products meet all safety, legal and environmental standards. We support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and strive to operate our business accordingly. The following guidelines are meant to ensure that our business partners maintain these same standards.
Labor, Health and Safety Voluntary Employment: Each employee’s presence must be voluntary. This prohibits prison labor, indentured labor, slave labor, or other compulsory labor.
Freedom of Association: Employees must have the right to freely associate and bargain collectively. Where the right to freedom of association is restricted under law, there must be an equivalent means of independent representation.
Fair and Equal Treatment: Work environments must be free of intolerance, harassment, abuse, retribution, and corporal punishment. There cannot be discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, nationality, social status, disability, age, marital status, capacity to bear children, pregnancy, sexual orientation or other status of the individual unrelated to their ability to perform the job.
Child Labor: Suppliers must meet applicable laws, regulations, or other legal requirements regarding minimum age for employment. Suppliers cannot hire anyone if their employment interferes with compulsory schooling, or if the individual is under the minimum age established by law. All laws and regulations governing working conditions for minors must be followed. UncommonGoods will not conduct business with suppliers that use child labor, as outlined above.
Compensation: Suppliers must pay employees wages and benefits which, at a minimum, comply with any applicable law and match the prevailing local industry practices. All other benefits required by local law or regulation shall be provided. There cannot be conditional employment practices, such as training or apprenticeship wages, pre-employment fees, deposits, or other practices that effectively lower an employee’s pay below the legal minimum wage.
Working Hours: Suppliers must maintain reasonable employee working hours in compliance with applicable laws and industry standards of the countries in which the supplier does business. UncommonGoods will not use suppliers that, on a regularly scheduled basis, require employees to work in excess of the statutory requirements, unless those employees are properly compensated as required by applicable law and work overtime on a voluntary basis.
Health and Safety: Workplaces must be safe and healthy based on the standards of the ILO2 and national laws. This requirement applies to residential facilities provided. Employees must receive training on workplace safety practices.
Protecting Animal Life: Animal-based materials shall be sourced in an ethical manner. All products sold to UncommonGoods are to be produced without causing harm to animals. UncommonGoods does not sell products containing leather, feathers or fur. Product Safety and Quality Suppliers must comply with applicable safety standards and all legal and labeling requirements and specifications.
We will favor suppliers who:
1) are committed to improving their social and environmental impact and disclose this information on a regular basis;
2) eliminate toxic and hazardous substances from products and operations;
3) increase efficiency, thereby minimizing use of raw materials, energy and water, while minimizing pollution and waste;
4) properly manage waste and any environmental problems associated with disposal of wastes.
We require a continuous effort to improve environmental performance along a defined path towards clean production.
Right of Review: Suppliers must allow UncommonGoods personnel and other representatives acting on its behalf to inspect any facility producing merchandise for UncommonGoods as well as the relevant records of the facility, with or without prior notice. Employees must have the opportunity to report anonymously, without retribution, on workplace standards violations.