Page 46 - Sustainability report 2018 Ratti Group

CHAPTER 3 | Material becomes creation
questionnaire in which the Legal Representative of the company declares compliance with the principles of SA8000.
The indications provided by the certification bodies, due to a lack of laws/regulations safeguarding workers, even in the case of child labour, suggest using as rarely as possible suppliers from the following countries: Bangladesh, Iran, Kenya, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, Venezuela, Laos, Bolivia, Vietnam, Pakistan.
Ratti has, therefore, limited its purchasing activities in these countries, carrying out the appropriate checks in cases where a supplier’s credentials are not sufficient to guarantee compliance with social accountability good practice.
Currently, the only case of supply relationships with suppliers in a country at risk is that of two Pakistani companies, whose compliance with SA8000 standards has been assessed.
In the case of significant commercial
agreements, Ratti requires compliance with
its Code of Ethics, which includes specific clauses regarding human rights.
The greatest volume of purchases is made
by Ratti SpA, which duly follows the policies
and procedures described above.
For the few local suppliers selected directly
by Textrom Srl (Romania) the Group pays attention to compliance with all local legislation in force.
The only case of supply relationships with suppliers in a country at risk
is that of two Pakistani companies, whose compliance with
SA8000 standards has been assessed.
At December 31st 2018 the Ratti Group
had 1,375 suppliers; of these 82.85% were from Italy, 9.88% from other European countries, 5.52% from Asia, 1.16% from North America and 0.36% from Africa.
By way of confirming the historical-cultural links that the Ratti Group has with the region in which it operates, it may be usefully emphasised
that 75.24% of the value of purchases are made with Italian suppliers, and of these 67.67%
are from suppliers based in Lombardy.
Defending the cardinal value of intellectual property
The Group believes it is of paramount importance to fully respect intellectual and industrial property, whether this is its own or that of its customers.
This is a cardinal value of its activities, in a context of competition that is fair and proper. As a consequence, Ratti requires its suppliers to comply with the laws in force and the relevant applicable regulations.
The Group commits to treat with appropriate confidentiality – and to protect – ideas, models, designs and other forms of intellectual property developed during the company’s working activities; not to undertake projects and/or develop products
that could lead to violations of the
intellectual property rights of third parties, expressly forbidding any conduct aimed at the alteration, counterfeiting, and the illegal use of distinctive trademarks or logos, and designs and models whether Italian of foreign; not to sell products with distinctive trademarks or logos that are counterfeit and/or deceptive, including reference to the origin, source or quality of the product; not to produce, sell, distribute or even simply use products that have already been patented by third parties and over which the Group cannot claim any rights; to forbid any abusive distribution, reproduction, use or sale of original works for any reason and for any use.
The REACH regulation
Ratti requires its suppliers to comply with the REACH regulation for chemical products and dyes, other articles and manufacturing. These requests are sent every time the SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) is updated, and following every amendment to REACH.
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of chemical substances) is an EU regulation covering numerous chemical substances, with
the aim of ensuring greater protection
of human health and the environment.
Through REACH it is possible to obtain information regarding the dangerous properties of products, risks associated
with exposure and the safety measures that should be applied.
According to this regulation, in order
to produce, import or market chemical substances, producers and importers
are obliged to gather information on the properties of the substances, so they can be managed safely.
This information should be forwarded to
the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency). The above obligations concern, first and foremost, the producers and importers of substances in quantities greater than
1 ton/year, followed by the downstream users of substances as well as the producers and importers of articles who operate in the European economy.
All chemical substances used for production are purchased by Ratti SpA (also for the Textrom subsidiary).
The is no provision for the use of such substances in Creomoda.
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