Ethical Trading at Montane

Montane is proud to work with some of the leading technical apparel and equipment factories in the industry, many of which we’ve partnered with since the very beginning. We only work with manufacturers who respect both our standards, and the rights and well-being of the people who make our products.

FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION

In October 2019 Montane became a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF). The FWF is an independent, non-profit organisation that works with brands and manufacturers to improve labour conditions and worker’s rights in the global textile and apparel manufacturing industry.

As part of our factory selection process and ongoing partnerships, we require that our suppliers agree to and meet our business standards. Montane has always included our Social and Ethical Policy in all factory contracts, to help to ensure that our values, policies and standards are understood and adhered to. The policy was built upon the same International Labour Organisation (ILO) foundations that underpin the Fair Wear Foundations (FWF) work. Montane’s FWF membership and regular visits to our factories support long term and effective implementation of these standards.

You can view Fair Wear Foundations Montane brand page here.

The Fair Wear Foundation Eight Code of Labour Practises (CoLP)

The below labour standards are the fundamental values we strive to communicate and support throughout all garment and product manufacturers Montane works with. To raise and maintain awareness with all of the workers, these standards are displayed in the local language of all factories we work with. Workers also receive training about the CoLP, which builds understanding and supports open dialogue between factory management and the workers.

An anonymous complaints mechanism operated by Fair Wear and their member brands further supports transparency of working conditions, and gives workers a voice. Working together with Fair Wear and any other member brands present in the factory, we work hard to resolve any concerns raised quickly. Our factories also undergo regular audits, to ensure that our high standards are being upheld.

Why Fair Wear Foundation?

Upon joining the FWF, Montane joined a community of brands working hard to improve working conditions and transparency in the garment industry. Working together in this way gives us a collective voice, which ultimately increases the influence we have and enables us to really make a positive difference.

Our FWF membership also provides us with continuous training and support that builds our own understanding of the challenges faced by different production countries, legislative changes and how best we can work together with factories to create meaningful change.

This membership and the work it requires, strengthens our confidence in the factories we work with, in turn giving you confidence that by purchasing from Montane you are supporting improved conditions and working rights for the people who make your products. To facilitate easy and strong working relationships with other FW brands, Montane discloses 100% of the factories who produce for Montane.

You can find all of the factories we work with on the below map:

Annual Social Report

Each year, Montane produces a Social Report, which highlights the work we have undertaken as part of our Fair Wear Foundation membership during the previous year. This includes things like our approach to responsible sourcing, conducting factory audits, and facilitating training of factory workers. These things support continued positive social compliance in the factories we work with, as well as helping garment workers to understand their rights, and Montane’s expectations of their working contracts and conditions. This report is published annually, to share with you the work we have been doing, the challenges we have faced, and the achievements we have made.

Annual Brand Performance Check

The Fair Wear Foundation also conduct an annual Brand Performance Check (BPC) of all member brands, to review and report whether expectations are being met, any areas that could be strengthened, and to help to guide plans for the year ahead. It is this BPC which ultimately makes brands accountable and pushes us to do better each year. After reviewing the work we did last year, and developing the Social Report above, we have undertaken our second BPC and received a ‘Good’ rating from the Fair Wear Foundation. To aid transparency, our BPC Report is also published here.

What does it mean to be good?

“It is Fair Wear’s belief that member companies who are making a serious effort to implement the Code of Labour Practises – the vast majority of Fair Wear member companies – are ‘doing good’ and deserve to be recognised as such. They are also doing more than the average clothing company, and have allowed their internal processes to be examined and publicly reported on by an independent NGO.”

You can learn more about the Fair Wear Foundation and the brands who are members on their website.

Montane is a member of the International Accord

In 2021 Montane began to manufacture some of our products in Bangladesh. We are aware that the conditions and standards for garment factories in Bangladesh can be particularly variable, and because of this, it is especially important that we take steps to monitor, manage, and mitigate risks in the factory’s we work with.

In September 2021, the previously known Ready Made Garment (RMG) Bangladesh Accord was replaced with the International Accord for Health & Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry. This Accord will be in place until November 2023 and strives to promote a safe and healthy textile and ready-made-garment industry. This is managed through audits that assess factory standards for structural, fire, and electrical safety. Where recommendations or requirements are made, Montane will work together with our factories to ensure remediation is swift, sufficient, and that safe and healthy working conditions are maintained.

The Bangladeshi factories Montane works with already worked with other Fair Wear Foundation member brands, making them familiar with the practises and working standards Montane expect. Going forwards, we will work together with these member brands to ensure factory safety is upheld. This due diligence is part and parcel of Montane’s membership with the Fair Wear Foundation, and our commitment to the Code of Labour Practises. Our membership to the International Accord is in addition to the factory audits and training we conduct as part of our Fair Wear membership, where the focus extends to social compliance and workers rights, as described above.

Military coup in Myanmar – our response:

Montane condemns the ongoing violence against peaceful protesters in Myanmar, led by the military. We are in support of the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the international condemnation of violence issued on March 28th, supported by the UK government and European Parliament. Montane urges the swift reinstallation of democracy in Myanmar, and that all violence immediately cease to enable a return to peace.

Montane does manufacture in Myanmar, and we continue to do so in support of continued stable employment of those workers. The factory is privately owned, with no links to the military, and we remain in close communication with both the manufacturer and other outdoor brands working with the same factory, to maintain continued clarity of the situation. We also maintain regular communication with the Fair Wear Foundation with regards to UN and OECD guidance on the situation Myanmar faces. This guidance is publicly available here.

From reducing the environmental impact of the materials we use to demanding the highest ethical standards in our supply chain, our journey towards sustainability is ongoing. Head back to our main page or find out more more on our other pillars:

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