Country Road Group’s ethical sourcing team assessed 67 social compliance audits conducted during FY24 and reportedly found no instance of modern slavery during the period.
This is according to the group’s modern slavery statement for the FY24 period, which was recently added to Australia’s Modern Slavery Register.
Country Road Group is the managing business for Australian brands Country Road, Politix, Mimco, Witchery and Trenery. It is housed under Woolworths Holdings Limited (South Africa).
Despite not finding any instance of modern slavery, the audits did uncover 30 instances of “critical non-conformances” across 16 sites, each relating to health and safety, overtime hours, site permits and licences, and record keeping. With health and safety, this included worker health, PPE, building maintenance and fire safety.
As at the end of FY24, 11 of the 30 critical non-compliances had been confirmed as closed, according to the statement.
“We require our suppliers to be active members of the platform SEDEX as part of our AFP [approved factory program], providing increased visibility of risk profiles and enabling active management of non-compliance and audit renewal schedules,” the report read.
“In FY24 we achieved 79 per cent of active factories with active SEDEX membership as at 30 June 2024. In accordance with the principles outlined in the risk assessment completed by ELEVATE in FY20, we continue to investigate new controls to improve monitoring and management of modern slavery risks, including risk assessment tools available through the SEDEX platform.”
Through the reporting period, Country Road Group’s merchandise sourcing footprint covered 14 countries, including 151 suppliers to manufacture its branded products in 218 finished goods factories, all contributing to the employment of over 75,000 workers at these sites.
Apparel is the group’s largest category, with more than 10 million units, followed by 4.5 million units in accessories and footwear, and 1.8 million units across homewares.
Its China suppliers produced the bulk of the units (87.38 per cent), followed by Bangladesh at 4.54 per cent, Indonesia at 3.16 per cent, and Vietnam at 1.48 per cent.
Just under half a per cent was produced in Australia at 13 factory sites.
Across Country Road Group in FY24, the business managed over 600 retail and concession stores across Australia and New Zealand, consisting around 300 stores and over 300 concession arrangements across David Jones and Myer, with the business shifting more heavily into Myer through 2024.