At Dr. Martens, they believe it is just as important to choose their suppliers for their fair treatment of their employees as for their performance on cost, delivery and quality.

And yet, they do not believe in audits that just tick boxes and demand immediate compliance. Their research shows that this approach can force bad practices underground, leading to false documentation and coached workers. They prefer not just that factories pass audits but that conditions for workers actually improve.

They encourage, therefore, an honest dialogue with their suppliers. They understand that sometimes it’s just not possible for them to comply with all aspects of ther code of conduct straight away, but they do expect any critical issues to be reminded immediately and other issues are resolves as a part of long term improvement plan. They do not work with suppliers who do not demonstrate commitment to their approach.

They do conduct audits of their suppliers it is in conjunction with impact who are an independent 3rd party company specializing in supply chain ethics. Their audits are very through and include physical appraisal of all work and domestic facilities, a review of documents and management and worker interviews.

Their attention to ethical issues in their supplier’s factories is ongoing. They focus on implementing improvements by ensuring that key issues are dealt with by the people who are actually responsible for making the changes.

As well as corporate Social responsibility, they assess their suppliers, of course, for their performance on cost, quality and delivery and this information is published in a balanced score card to give us an overall measure on how each supplier is doing.