PRODUCT
Responsible Sourcing
Responsible Sourcing
We believe all workers and communities deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. We strive to be a responsible and responsive employer and corporate citizen, and we expect the same from our suppliers, particularly in their treatment of their workers. We carefully select the Tier 1 suppliers (which manufacture our products) with whom we work, and we reinforce our expectations through training, monitoring, and policies, which are informed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Supply Chain Goals & Progress
GOAL
2022 PROGRESS
Extend traceability of cotton to our fabric mills by 2025
100% of mills accounted for in traceability program
Improve the well-being of at least 1 million workers within our global value chain by 2030
139,686 workers benefited by education and empowerment programs
Traceability
We work with our supply chain partners to ensure that raw materials and other components of our products do not use forced labor to harvest or produce them. This effort is dependent upon enhancing our traceability capabilities.
In 2022, we achieved our 2025 goal of extending traceability to the mill level (three years ahead of schedule). To accomplish this, we implemented a comprehensive traceability program focused on:
- Capability Screening: Assessing ability of suppliers to provide documentation showing material origin
- Factory Training: Providing training and education to suppliers and building competencies as needed
- Mock Audits: Verifying and validating material tracing capability
Traceability Program Components
Social Compliance
We uphold our labor standards through a rigorous supplier monitoring process that includes unannounced visits, verification of business documentation, assurance that worker pay complies with our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy and applicable labor laws, evaluation of health and safety conditions, and visits to production facilities and worker housing. We are also increasing worker surveys and in special circumstances will conduct off-site interviews.
Tier 1 Supplier Compliance Auditing
2022
2021
2020
2019
Number of Active Tier 1 Suppliers
88
93
100
110
Number of Active Factories
137
1421
164
195
Number of Factories with a Passing Score
137
125
155
191
Number of Factories with a Below Passing Score
0
4
3
4
Number of Unannounced Audits Conducted
36
55
692
105
1 There were 13 factories we were only able to audit virtually due to the pandemic; we therefore chose not to issue a score.
2 Due to pandemic restrictions, we paused the execution of unnanounced factory audits in 2020.
Partnering for Worker Well-being
We believe multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaboration often represent the most productive and effective approach to address complex industry-wide issues that cannot be solved by any one company alone. We work with a variety of partners to help create better working conditions in our supply chain.
This year, Carter’s is proud to be partnering with Planet Water Foundation to bring access to clean, safe drinking water to a community in Pursat Province, Cambodia. Volunteers from Carter’s will assist in the construction of a community water filtration system that can provide up to 1,800 people with access to clean, safe water. The project will also include a comprehensive Water Health and Hygiene Education program for students and the local community.
For more information on Planet Water Foundation, please visit their website.
RISE: Reimagining Industry to Support Equality is a collaborative initiative supporting industry to advance equality for women workers in global garment supply chains.
RISE brings together the four largest women’s empowerment programs in the apparel industry—from BSR’s HERproject, Gap Inc. P.A.C.E., CARE International, and Better Work—to build from proven approaches, scale impact, and improve efficiency. This single approach makes it easier and more efficient for industry and wider stakeholders to drive accelerated and lasting impact on gender equality.
The four founding partner organizations work with 50 of the world’s largest apparel brands and have reached over 5 million women workers globally. Our participation in the program focuses on providing training programs to Carter’s suppliers.
Maxturn Apparel
Maxturn serves as an example of our RISE efforts. The company is a highly strategic partner to Carter’s in Vietnam with approximately 1,250 workers, more than 90% of whom are women. In collaboration with RISE and their local implementation partner Life Centre, a majority of the company’s workforce has participated in health and career training that has helped them better care for themselves and their families.