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People
Our aim is to empower the people in our value chain by not only responding to their needs, but also by cultivating responsible sourcing practices that—first and foremost—champion human rights.
The intersectionality of people and the planet is integral to how we respond to the current—and future—challenges we face. From war and poverty, to climate change and the cost of living crisis—we recognise that the world is not fair, equitable, or just.
At PANGAIA, we envision a world free of exploitation and discrimination. A world that champions respect, dignity and well-being. That is why we aim to have a positive impact on the people that touch our value chain—this means supporting the individuals who make up our teams and those individuals we depend on through our partners.
Understanding People’s Needs
It is vital that we understand our potential—and actual—social impacts so we can better protect, respect and remedy any infringements on human rights. To succeed at this we need to be inclusive and cater to the needs of people across the entire value chain. In 2021, we conducted a social materiality assessment centered on such needs in order to capture where we should direct our efforts. From this assessment, we concluded that there are four essential areas that positively impact the lives of people in our value chain:
- The need for a fair and decent livelihood
- The need for voice and dialogue
- The need for equity and empowerment
- The need for health, safety and well-being
Understanding the issues in our industry
Advancing living wages and fair livelihoods
There is a large and persistent gap between what workers are paid (even as a legal minimum), and what they need for a decent standard of living. It's estimated that less than 5% of people making clothes receive a living wage, meaning that over 95% of workers do not earn enough to live. Further down the supply chain, there are volatile commodity prices and unfair trade practices—leading to low incomes and unreliable economic stability for the people producing raw materials. These experiences perpetuate a cycle of poverty and do not elevate the lives of the people working within the fashion and textile supply chain.
Advocating for equity, diversity and inclusion to foster empowerment
Discriminatory working conditions often occur within the fashion industry and are rife in the supply chain. There are certain groups more vulnerable to discrimination such as migrant workers, young workers and women. Women make up a significant proportion of the labor force across both agriculture and manufacturing (around 80% of apparel factory workers are female)—yet they face numerous barriers that often prevent them from realizing their full potential. These barriers include everything from discrimination, violence and sexual harassment—to low wages, a lack of voice and a lack of representation. Men tend to work in supervisory, management and ownership positions in factories. Therefore there is an imbalance of power between men and women, making women particularly vulnerable to abuse in the workplace.
Listening and amplifying worker’s voices
While all workers should be ableto advocate for their rights by forming or joining a union or workplace committee—many around the world face challenges in making this a reality. Repressing freedom of association and social dialogue between workers and management is detrimental to progression. In some countries, the right to association and collective bargaining is not legally protected and this undermines constructive discourse. Providing clear and trusted channels through which workers can raise workplace concerns is vital to resolving grievances.
Enabling health & safety and promoting wellbeing
Many people who work in the garment industry face unsafe working conditions. Despite progress being made, many factory accidents have continued to happen. High demand, short lead times and chasing the cheapest price can produce unsafe working environments—this occurs where high production is prioritized while adherence to maintaining building integrity and fire codes is neglected. Little research has been done to evaluate whether workers in the industry are receiving healthcare and benefits, but given that there are fewer legal regulations in sourcing hotspots it can be assumed that these protections are missing. Additionally, a large share of apparel and textiles are made in the informal economic sector, where compliance with legal standards of health and safety does not occur.
Working with Fair Wear
In 2022 we began working with Fair Wear Foundation, an independent, non-profit organisation that works to improve conditions for workers in the fashion supply chain. PANGAIA became a Fair Wear member at the start of 2023—we continue to align with the foundation’s mission to improve the garment industry whilst supporting workers in realising their right to safe, dignified and fairly paid employment. Link to 2023 Social Impact Report
A note on transparency
We are committed to gaining visibility and traceability of our products to ensure that we understand our impact—both socially and environmentally. We have recently taken a number of progressive steps towards achieving this goal, these are detailed below.
- The Transparency Pledge is an international voluntary commitment brands can make to publish information about their supply chain—highlighting where their products are produced. PANGAIA are proud to commit to the Transparency Pledge—our aim is to exceed these minimum requirements, furthering our commitment to disclosing supply chains, practices and impacts in an open and honest manner.
- The Open Supply Hub (OS Hub) is a database of facilities that many international brands contribute to by publishing their suppliers. It is a neutral platform that aims to drive collective change through the sharing of standardized data. PANGAIA are contributing towards the database, solidifying our accountability for the supply chain we are a part of. See here for our latest Supplier Transparency List.
We believe that this transparency—combined with the collective effort we make to improve working conditions and manage our environmental impact—will assure our stakeholders that we consistently work to improve the production process.