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responsible & environmental
criteria
A Commitment to Sustainability in Raw Materials & Manufacturing.
The United Nations has defined the following ten years as the Decade of Action, which calls upon organizations and industries to accelerate specific action towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. For RawAssembly to pre-select and filter sustainable producers that we feel are players in this process of shared development and action, the following criteria have been developed to select our producers.
RawAssembly focuses on both quantitative and qualitative evidence for commitment in these areas and will take both into account when approving our partner producers. Quantitive evidence comes in the form of certifications and standards that a partner holds for organizational, manufacturing processes, or specific products or finishes. Qualitative evidence relates to additional commitments, projects, advocacy, and research that our partners are involved with, which defines their commitment towards action and RawAssembly feels should be promoted.
Ultimately it's about defining how we care and act. RawAssembly works closely with our partners to select fibres, fabrics, packaging, and other alternative materials based on the following criteria and view these as both reassurances to our visitors and also a framework for educating all.
“As businesses, we need to safeguard nature within our own supply chains, as well as champion transformative actions far beyond them to ensure that humanity operates within planetary boundaries. We believe that a transformative change is needed and that a circular economy that is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems is key.”
Kering Group
The Guiding Framework
Climate
Consistent with the Targets set out under SDGs 7 & 13, RawAssembly works with partners who are actively seeking to substantially increase their use of renewable energy sources, reduce their emissions and actively implement climate change mitigation into their organizational policies and strategies. These commitments are more specifically defined in the United Nations Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change. RawAssembly seeks to work closely with partners who use this charter to support their decarbonizing journey.
Water
Consistent with the Targets set out under SDGs 6 & 14, RawAssembly works with partners who have systems and policies that improve water quality through reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials into fresh waterways and oceans. They increase water-use efficiency and ensure sustainable withdrawals to address water scarcity, reducing the proportion of untreated wastewater and increasing the recycling and safe reuse of water.
Regenerative Agriculture & BIOdiversity
Consistent with the Targets set out under SDG 15, RawAssembly works with partners whose sources, manufacturing processes and policies ensure conservation and restoration of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. They promote and/or implement the sustainable management of forests, restore degraded forests and support global efforts towards increasing afforestation and reforestation. In particular, RawAssembly seeks to work with agricultural partners (growers) who engage in regenerative agricultural practices that combat desertification, restore degraded land and soils, ultimately aiming to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
Animal Welfare
Consistent with the Targets set out under SDG 15 and drawing on the 5 Freedoms defined by the Responsible Wool Standard, RawAssembly works with partners who ensure animals are free from hunger & thirst, discomfort, fear & distress, pain & injury and are free to move and behave normally. In addition to a zero-tolerance for the use of products from poached or trafficked species of flora and fauna, RawAssembly only works with non mulesed wool growers and is a fur and leather-free organization.
TRACEABILITY
Consistent with the Targets set out under SDG 12 and the Responsible Industry guide, authored by the United Nations Environment Programme, the responsible economy of the future requires innovative solutions aimed at “decoupling” production patterns from the exploitation of people and the environment. RawAssembly works with partners who value and invest in transparency and traceability in their supply chains, which is reflected in their policies, reporting, and a commitment to developing traceability technology.
Waste
Consistent with the Targets set out under SDG 12, RawAsssembly works with partners who in addition to reducing overall waste generation, seek to have sound management of chemicals and all waste throughout their life-cycles, in accordance with international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment. RawAssembly promotes circular models and the principles of ‘cradle-to-cradle’, with a particular focus on the identification of exemplary recycling programs and waste streams that can be regenerated into new materials or as feedstock for new material development.
PEOPLE
Consistent with the Targets set out under SDG 8 and global standards addressing the effects of chemicals on human health. RawAssembly works with partners who have taken measures to eradicate forced labour, human trafficking, modern slavery and the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. These partners protect the labour rights of their workers and promote safe working environments, including migrant workers and those with disabilities. In addition, these organizations protect their customers through a zero-tolerance for fibres and finishes that are carcinogenic or toxic.
