David Jones Sustainability
Our Responsible Business Journey
At David Jones we’re passionate about making a difference for our people, our communities and for the environment as we continue our journey to become one of the most responsible retailers in the world.
Our social responsibility and sustainability strategy is currently being updated. We look to forward to sharing more about our exciting plans to leave a positive legacy soon.
RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN
David Jones’ vision for reconciliation is an Australia in which First Nations cultures, traditions and stories are respected and celebrated and First Peoples have access to equal opportunities for education and employment. David Jones is proud to be continuing its reconciliation journey through its second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which will be active from August 2023 – August 2025.
The learnings from David Jones’ first RAP have put us in a position to deepen our relationships, grow our commitments and influence, and drive meaningful change across our industry and beyond. We are focused on providing practical support to emerging and established First Nations fashion creatives through collaborations and pathway programs; demonstrating respect for First Nations leaders in our industry through storytelling and strengthened marketing support; creating direct employment pathways into the retail industry for young First Nations Peoples; and being visible and engaged on issues that matter to all Australians.
Click here to read David Jones’ Innovate RAP
OUR GENDER PAY GAP STATEMENT 2022-23
David Jones is committed to providing an inclusive and diverse workforce reflecting our customers and the communities in which we work.
We are proud of being an employer with a high proportion of women in our workforce and recognise the importance of transparent reporting to address existing gender pay gaps.
Click here to read our Gender Pay Gap Statement 2022-23
POLICIES
Supplier Code of Conduct
Our Supplier Code of Conduct outlines our minimum requirements of doing business with David Jones in relation to environmental, social and ethical issues along our supply chain. There are four elements of our Supplier Code of Conduct,
- Ensure safe and fair working conditions, in line with the ETI Base Code
- Ensure integrity and transparency between David Jones and supply chain partners
- Improve environmental outcomes beyond David Jones’ operational control
- Protect the welfare of animals
We recognise that there may be times where our expectations are not being met and, while we are committed to working with our suppliers to support continuous improvement, we do reserve the right to terminate business relationships with suppliers that fall well short of our expectations or fail to improve over a period of time.
Click here to read David Jones’ Supplier
Animal Welfare
David Jones recognises the importance of protecting the welfare of animals.
Our Supplier Code of Conduct outlines our expectations in relation to animal welfare and requires all suppliers to "employ all reasonable efforts to ensure that animals under their care are treated in a humane manner" in compliance with local and national laws.
This provision applies to all suppliers including our branded suppliers, who are required to have systems in place to ensure they meet our expectations in relation to animal welfare and that they maintain adequate records to demonstrate compliance.
To support our Code of Conduct, we have also developed our Animal Welfare Policy, which applies more prescriptive requirements on our private label suppliers. These requirements include ensuring: that animals are treated humanely and with respect; that harmful processes are not employed; and that prohibited products are not supplied to David Jones. Some of these prohibited products include fur, angora, foie gras, exotic skins and products made from endangered species.
In relation to fur, our Code of Conduct specifically states that "David Jones does not condone the use of fur and suppliers must ensure that fur is not used in any product supplied to David Jones." This provision applies to all private label and branded suppliers.
Click here to read David Jones’ Animal Welfare Policy.
Guiding Principles for Sustainable Packaging
David Jones is committed to working with suppliers to reduce the environmental and social impact of packaging.
As a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, David Jones has developed our Guiding Principles for Sustainable Packaging to improve packaging design of our private label range.
In addition, we encourage all suppliers to take all reasonable steps to produce packaging from renewable, recycled and recyclable materials as a as a minimum requirement of having signed the Supplier Code of Conduct and our Vendor Trading Terms.
Click here to read David Jones’ Guiding Principles For Sustainable Packaging
Click here to read David Jones’ latest APCO Packaging Report and Action Plan.
Harmful Substances Policy
David Jones is committed to eliminating harmful substances from its supply chain.
Our Harmful Substances Policy outlines our expectations in relation to the use of harmful substances and those substances that we would like our suppliers to stop using as a matter of priority.
Click here to read David Jones’ Harmful Substances Policy.
SUPPORT THE RIGHTS AND WELLBEING OF OUR SUPPLIER PARTNERS
Our commitment is to support the rights and wellbeing of people working along our supply chain, by promoting awareness about key issues like modern slavery and living wage.
Modern Slavery
The Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018 reporting, which was built around the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP’s) requires businesses operating in Australia with consolidated revenue of $100 million+ to report annually on the risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. It is required to detail actions taken to address risks identified and determine measures to assess effectiveness.
To read our Modern Slavery Statement/s: follow these links:
David Jones FY23 Modern Slavery Statement
David Jones FY22 Modern Slavery Statement
David Jones FY21 Modern Slavery Statement
David Jones FY20 Modern Slavery Statement
Living Wage
Governments of all countries in which we source raw materials and manufacture goods set minimum wages for their workers. It is widely recognised by corporations, NGOs, academics and industry bodies that these minimum wages are often insufficient for workers to afford a decent standard of living. The Global Living Wage Coalition and Anker Methodology define a living wage as: “Remuneration received for a standard work week by a worker in a particular place sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and her or his family. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transport, clothing and other essential needs, including provision for unexpected events.”
David Jones endorses the Global Living Wage Coalition and Anker Methodology definition of a living wage, and is committed to promoting conditions that support every worker’s opportunity to receive a living wage. David Jones’ commitment to living wages forms part of our
David Jones has commenced work to support the implementation of living wages and drive industry change. This is a complex global issue but one we are committed to addressing in partnership with our industry peers. We have recently reviewed and updated our actions and are committed to the following milestones:
- Develop a roadmap to enable a living wage for all workers across our supply chain
– by January 2022 - Conduct wage gap analysis for tier 1 factories
– by October 2023 - Review and progress plans for a Responsible Purchasing Framework
– by December 2023 - Develop and implement training for internal teams and external partners on living wage and responsible purchasing practices to raise awareness and strengthen capacity
– by December 2023 - Continue to collaborate with industry stakeholders to further develop our understanding and learn from shared experiences
– by December 2023
Update 24th November 2023
The David Jones business returned to Australian ownership in March 2023. As we continue to work through this business transition, we are taking the opportunity to review our approach to Living Wage as a stand-alone business.
Despite disruptions during this period of transition, as well as and navigating the complexities of living wage, we were able to make progress on our living wage commitments. Progress included:
- Development of a living wage roadmap (alongside our previous owners)
- Commencement of a wage gap analysis of our Tier 1 factories located in China (in progress, to be completed by March 2024)
- Continued collaboration with industry stakeholders through attending webinars and utilising resources from various organisations, such as ETI and Oxfam. Working with stakeholders in our industry will help inform our future response, now as a stand-alone business (in progress)
At David Jones, we understand the importance of transparency and are fully committed to working diligently to develop a comprehensive approach, with stronger processes to ensure the fulfilment of our commitments going forward.
We look forward to further to providing further updates as we make progress on this important issue.
International Accord on Health & Safety in the Textile & Garment Industry
We are a signatory of the International Accord on Health & Safety in the Textile & Garment Industry
The International Accord is an independent, legally binding framework agreement between brands and trade unions which have reaffirmed their commitment to ensure a safe and healthy garment industry in Bangladesh since 2013 and expand with new country workplace safety programs. The International Accord aims to promote a culture of workplace safety in which no worker needs to fear fires or other safety accidents and to provide a trusted avenue for workers to raise health and safety concerns.
Leather Working Group
David Jones is a member of Leather Working Group.
Better Cotton Membership Update
With David Jones transitioning back under Australian ownership during the FY23 reporting period, we took the opportunity to review shared memberships we were holding under WHL, our previous owners.
As part of this review, we decided to pause our Better Cotton membership in FY23. We recognise that during this transition phase, there may still be David Jones Private Label products in-store featuring the ‘Better Cotton’ logo. Please note that these were sourced during our active Better Cotton membership (2017-2023).
We recognise the importance and value of collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders to lift industry standards and look forward to providing an update on future collaborations and memberships.
Note: Better Cotton is sourced via a system of mass balance and is not physically traceable to end products. See bettercotton.org for details.
David Jones Factories
David Jones is committed to becoming a leader in ethical sourcing and as such we have decided to publish our factories to demonstrate our commitment to transparency.
This interactive map features 90% of first-tier manufacturing sites which produce David Jones branded product.** All factories featured on this map were active at the time of publishing. We aim to ensure the information on this map is as accurate as possible but cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data, as the information has been self-declared by each factory. The data on this map will be reviewed and updated routinely to verify the accuracy of the information. We also reserve the right to remove any factory from the map at any time should we suspend or cease trading with a factory for any reason. If you have a query on a specific supplier factory, please email us at ethicalsourcing@davidjones.com.au
* Data Not Captured: we are working to close this data gap through updated audit reports and working back with our supply partners.
**We are committed to adding to this percentage over time.
List updated 19/09/2024