People in the supply chain

We work hand in hand with customers and suppliers to lift sustainability standards across our supply chain.

As a global supply chain solutions provider, we partner with thousands of suppliers worldwide to deliver a wide array of consumer goods for our clients. Driving tangible progress and advancing sustainable development alongside our supplier network is therefore one of our core priorities. We aim to source sustainable goods and services proactively, delivering meaningful positive social and environmental outcomes.

1. Priority Areas & Commitments

Safeguarding workers’ safety, health and wellbeing throughout the supply chain

We collaborate closely with industry peers to uphold rigorous fire safety, building integrity and overall occupational health and safety standards. Our ambition is zero work-related injuries or harm for all workers involved in manufacturing our products or delivering services to us. To reach this goal, UniverseHolding cooperates with key stakeholders including Better Work. We carry out in-depth risk evaluations at selected manufacturing sites and roll out targeted health and safety training programmes. For instance, we have launched dedicated safety initiatives covering electrical fire prevention, life safety systems, boiler and generator management, as well as wet processing and laundry safety across hundreds of factories globally. Further information about these programmes is available in our ESG report.

Stamping out child labour within the supply chain

UniverseHolding is firmly committed to eliminating child labour from our supply network. Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out our commitment to ethical business dealings, alongside robust controls and systems designed to root out all forms of child labour. Our child labour elimination strategy is built around three pillars: strengthening governance and policy frameworks, putting in place prevention and remediation procedures, and ongoing risk surveillance. We join forces with organisations such as The Centre and relevant programmes to end child labour, uphold children’s rights, promote decent work and advance family-friendly workplace policies in our supply base. Full details can be found in our ESG report.

Preventing modern slavery and human trafficking across our operations and supply chain

UniverseHolding adopts a proactive stance to tackle all forms and contributing factors of modern slavery, recruitment fees and forced labour. Beyond routine evaluations and unannounced spot checks covering abusive labour practices, we deploy digital tools including DiginexLumen and DiginexAPPRISE to implement controls and eradicate modern slavery risks. We are also a signatory to the 2023 commitment launched by the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Fair Labor Association. Our actions and targets to combat forced labour are documented in our ESG report and our annual Modern Slavery Statement.

Combating gender-based violence and advancing gender equality in the supply chain

We believe every workplace should embrace equality, diversity and inclusion and reject discrimination of any kind. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards workplace violence, including sexual harassment and physical or psychological abuse. We harness digital tools over the long term to push forward gender equity and women’s empowerment, while creating direct channels to hear workers’ voices. We also partner extensively with Better Work to deliver awareness training for suppliers and factory management on this topic. Additional details are available within our ESG report.

2. Risk Governance and Compliance Management

We manage supply chain risks through structured risk assessment and strategic decision-making. We grow business relationships with suppliers who demonstrate stronger capabilities and lower risk profiles, while offering support to other suppliers so they can upgrade their performance.

Supplier risk assessment is anchored in UniverseHolding’s Supplier Code of Conduct. This foundational document defines our minimum requirements aligned with ILO Core Conventions, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, the UK Modern Slavery Act and applicable local laws. It covers labour and human rights, health and safety, environmental protection, site security, transparency and ethical conduct. Acceptance of these baseline standards is a prerequisite for all suppliers working with us. You may review the full document at: 

Compliance against the Code of Conduct is verified by our internal teams, approved external audit providers, customer-appointed auditors and independent industry bodies. Audits may be unannounced, semi-announced or scheduled, based on customer requirements. Combining our in-house expertise with the capacity of authorised third-party auditors gives us deeper visibility into supply chain conditions. We also continuously refine our audit methodology and consistency through regular joint training workshops with external audit partners.

The core components of our risk monitoring framework are outlined below:

3. Supplier Capability Development

Lasting transformation in our sector requires sustained effort and investment. As a leading supply chain solutions firm, we support suppliers to systematically improve factory working conditions to keep pace with evolving industry expectations.

Our assessments, technical guidance and capability-building programmes focus on building well-managed facilities and safer, fairer working environments. We recognise that durable supply chain improvement depends on empowering factories to lift compliance standards. We ensure factory teams receive relevant information and training to integrate social and environmental best practice into daily workflows. Upskilling our broader supplier community helps raise industry-wide compliance levels. We keep delivering training sessions, together with our industry partners, covering new regulatory updates, responsible labour practices, occupational safety and customer-specific compliance rules.

4. Cross-Industry Partnerships

We recognise that collective action is a powerful driver of industry-wide change. We take part in multi-stakeholder initiatives that bring customers and industry allies together to deliver real-world improvements. Our collaborative work prioritises practical programmes that address shared industry challenges, with a focus on countries where our production footprint is concentrated.

We work alongside industry partners to launch a range of initiatives targeting key health, safety and labour challenges in supply chains. These projects also educate workers and strengthen their agency, helping us build a more socially responsible and inclusive business model — all with the overarching goal of lifting overall sustainability performance. Our key partners include: