It is key for us to have strong relationships with our suppliers and factories – we truly see them as an extension of the Bravissimo family!

Having complete transparency about how our suppliers and factories operate is essential for us to ensure that, a safe working environment, fair pay, and fair and ethical treatment of the people working within the factories is upheld and protected in line with the Ethical Trading Initiatives Base Code.

All the Tier 1 factories that we work with must be accredited by a globally recognised Social and Ethical audit (SMETA, BSCI, WRAP) and we require all our suppliers to each make an assurance and commitment to us that they and their factories are working to the ETI Code of Conduct. You can find more detail about this in our Modern Slavery Statement.

In addition, our Product Team regularly visit our own brand factories and suppliers. It is important for us that our team are familiar with the factories in person, and they are educated to recognise and flag any areas of concern so we can address these and take appropriate action with the supplier or factory.

Visiting in person also gives our team an opportunity to see and hear for themselves what additional action and initiatives the factories are taking to support the welfare and well-being of their workers. Here are a couple of examples of the things they are doing:

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month - our Tunisian Supplier organised free breast examinations for all female staff and supported with any follow up appointments that were needed.

• Cost of Living crisis - the Sri Lankan factory that we work with has supported their staff through the Sri Lankan financial crisis and subsequent rise in cost of living through pay increases and by setting up staff shops for essential basics that they buy in bulk and offer to staff at a cheaper price than in the shops.

The environmental impact of garment manufacturing can be high through all stages of the process. At Bravissimo we are committed to working to reduce the impact of making our products where we can, and it’s important to us to maintain visibility of what our factories are doing through regular visits with our suppliers. Some examples of things that the own brand factories we work with are doing towards this are:

• 100% Solar power in one site in Tunisia

• Re-purposing off cuts and waste fabrics to make other products such as rugs and oven mitts with donations to local schools in Thailand

• Reducing plastic waste by replacing polybags with fabric bags made from fabric offcuts in Tunisia

It is also important for us to have visibility within our Tier 2 supply chain for own brand. We work with globally recognised nominated fabric and trim suppliers in both Europe and Asia. The product team also work closely with our Tier 1 suppliers and factories where they are sourcing for us to ensure that we always know where the materials used in our own brand products come from. We are also focused on improving sustainability of own brand products through sourcing recycled materials, particularly on our swimwear, you can find more information here in our Product and Materials section.