J.BARBOUR & SONS,LIMITED modern slavery statement summary (2024)

Organisation address
Simonside Industrial Estate,
South Shields,
Tyne & Wear,
NE34 9PD

We asked the organisation a series of questions about its modern slavery statement. Its answers are published on this page as a statement summary.

This statement provides information for all 6 recommended areas

What is a modern slavery statement?
UK law requires certain organisations to publish an annual modern slavery statement on their website, setting out the steps they are taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read more in the government guidance on publishing modern slavery statements.
Link to full statement
Go to full modern slavery statement on organisation’s website

PDF version of the statement

Warning The file has been uploaded directly by J.BARBOUR & SONS,LIMITED and has not been reviewed, assessed or moderated by the Home Office for suitability and accessibility.
If you need an accessible version of this PDF file, please contact J.BARBOUR & SONS,LIMITED for further assistance.
Download

J Barbour and Sons Ltd (Barbour) Modern Slavery statement 2024.pdf

File uploaded: 08 November 2024 at 3:35pm
PDF | 512.23 KB

Download file

About this statement summary

All answers relate to the financial year covered by the statement. The organisation is responsible for all the information it provided. Some of our questions are optional, so organisations may not have answered all of them. The statement summary does not replace the full modern slavery statement – below we provide a link to the full statement on the organisation’s website.

Contents

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
1 May 2023 to 30 April 2024

The statement was signed off by:
Ian Sime (Director Supply Chain)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
5 November 2024

Recommended areas covered by the statement

Government guidance encourages organisations to cover a range of areas in their modern slavery statements, setting out the steps they’re taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read about the recommended areas in the statutory guidance.

We asked the organisation to tell us which areas its statement covers.

Areas recommended by government guidance Organisation’s response
The organisation’s structure, business and supply chains Covered
Policies Covered
Risk assessment Covered
Due diligence (steps to address risk) Covered
Training about modern slavery Covered
Goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the organisation's actions and progress over time Covered

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Fashion, textiles, apparel and luxury goods

Turnover

Its turnover in the financial accounting year of this statement was:

£100 million to £500 million

If the organisation is a public body, this amount is based on the organisation’s budget for the year of the statement.
What does 'turnover' refer to in group statements?
If this is a group statement, this includes the total turnover for all the organisations covered by the statement.

Number of years producing statements

The organisation has been producing modern slavery statements for the following number of years:
More than 5 years
How does this work for group statements?
If the statement is for a group of organisations, this answer applies to the organisation with the longest history of producing statements.

Policies (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its policies include the following provisions in relation to its domestic and international supply chains, as well as its own operations.
Policy provisions we asked about Organisation’s response
Freedom of workers to terminate employment Included
Freedom of movement Included
Freedom of association Included
Prohibits any threat of violence, harassment and intimidation Included
Prohibits the use of worker-paid recruitment fees Included
Prohibits compulsory overtime Included
Prohibits child labour Included
Prohibits discrimination Included
Prohibits confiscation of workers' original identification documents Included
Provides access to remedy, compensation and justice for victims of modern slavery Included
Other
Not included

Training (optional)

We asked the organisation whether it provided training on modern slavery, and who it was for.
What counts as training?
We explained that by ‘training’ we meant anything designed to increase knowledge and skills around identifying, addressing or preventing modern slavery risks. This could range from formal training courses to broader awareness-raising activities such as workshops or webinars.
We asked who the training was for Organisation’s response
Your whole organisation No
Your front line staff Yes
Human resources Yes
Executive-level staff Yes
Procurement staff Yes
Your suppliers Yes
The wider community No
Other
No

Monitoring working conditions (optional)

Engaging with others

We asked the organisation to tell us who it engaged with to help monitor working conditions across its operations and supply chains.
We asked who the organisation engaged with Organisation’s response
Your suppliers Yes
Trade unions or worker representative groups Yes
Civil society organisations Yes
Professional auditors Yes
Workers within your organisation Yes
Workers within your supply chain Yes
Central or local government No
Law enforcement, such as police, GLAA and other local labour market inspectorates No
Businesses in your industry or sector Yes

Social audits

We asked the organisation to tell us about any social audits it used to look for signs of modern slavery.
What are social audits?
A social audit is a review of an organisation’s working practices from the point of view of social responsibility, and should include an evaluation of working conditions in the organisation’s operations and supply chains. By their nature, audits of supplier workplaces represent a snapshot in time.
Social audits we asked about Organisation’s response
Audit conducted by your staff Yes
Third party audit arranged by your organisation Yes
Audit conducted by your supplier’s staff No
Third party audit arranged by your supplier Yes
Announced audit Yes
Unannounced audit No

Grievance mechanisms

We asked the organisation how workers in its operations or supply chains could raise concerns or make complaints.
We asked if workers could raise concerns this way Organisation’s response
Using anonymous whistleblowing services, such as a helpline or mobile phone app Yes
Through trade unions or other worker representative groups No

Other ways of monitoring working conditions

We asked the organisation whether it had any other ways of monitoring working conditions across its operations and supply chains:
Multi-buyer collaboration funding a joint CSO forced labour assessment of a site in Mauritius with foreign migrant workers, responding to an NGO report of risk.

Modern slavery risks (optional)

Warning Identifying modern slavery risks is a vital step towards eradicating it. The government encourages organisations to be as open and transparent as possible, to improve understanding, collaboration and best practice around tackling this worldwide problem.
We asked the organisation to describe up to 3 priority risks it focused on during the period of the statement, including details of the affected workers, the activity involved, and the location.

Priority risks for this organisation (1 of 3)

Risk of child labour in one Myanmar Tier 1 apparel factory.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 1 suppliers
    Provide their products and services directly to your organisation.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Children
In which country Organisation’s response: Myanmar (Burma)
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Barbour joined Eurocham Myanmar, to understand local-context risks and connect with expert stakeholders, and MADE in Myanmar programme, to assure heightened due diligence monitoring of the one Myanmar site supplying our finished goods. We collaborate with peer brand buyers, and continue a 3-year engagement with The Centre for Child Rights and Business and this manufacturer. Barbour plans to repeat age verification training for factory management.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Risk of bonded labour with foreign migrant workers manufacturing apparel in Mauritius Tier 1 factory.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 1 suppliers
    Provide their products and services directly to your organisation.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Migrants
In which country Organisation’s response: Mauritius
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Foreign migrant workers manufacturing apparel in Mauritius – Barbour collaborates with peer brand buyers to assess sites with a labour rights CSO expert, and facilitates access-to-remedy for affected workers. Barbour plans to expand this heightened due diligence monitoring approach.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Risk of long working hours in Vietnam Tier 1 factories.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 1 suppliers
    Provide their products and services directly to your organisation.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • All workers
In which country Organisation’s response: Vietnam
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: All Vietnam suppliers are audited , following standard audit methodology, with audit results uploaded to the SEDEX platform. Barbour recognises that there are limitations on the effectiveness of standard announced audits scheduled by factories of their own sites. And plans to enter Tier 1 sites into a supported due diligence programme.

Indicators of forced labour (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its statement refers to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.
What are ILO indicators of forced labour?
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has produced a list of the most common signs of forced labour. They’re based on the definition of forced labour as ‘all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.’ More details and guidance are available on the ILO website, and in their publication ILO indicators of forced labour
ILO indicators we asked about Organisation’s response
Abuse of vulnerability No
Deception No
Restriction of movement No
Isolation No
Physical and sexual violence No
Intimidation and threats No
Retention of identity documents No
Withholding of wages No
Debt bondage Yes
Abusive working and living conditions No
Excessive overtime No
Other
-

Actions taken in response to finding ILO indicators

We asked the organisation to tell us whether its statement refers to any actions it took after finding indicators of forced labour
Actions we asked about Organisation’s response
Financial remediation, including repayment of recruitment fees Yes
Change in policy No
Change in training No
Referring potential victims to government services No
Supporting victims via NGO No
Supporting investigations by relevant authorities No
Other
-

Demonstrating progress (optional)

We asked the organisation how its statement demonstrates progress over time in addressing modern slavery risks. They provided the following answer:
Progress has been made by moving from a standard-audit-only approach to a heightened due diligence approach for our company’s riskiest Tier 1 sites; and in appropriating more proportional spend to highest risks, with better quality monitoring via labour rights organisations. Brand collaboration and advisory discussions from key labour rights experts has progressed efforts beyond audit. KPIs have been expanded to include transparency efforts, with the Open Supply Hub.