Our Ethical Policies
Uneeka endeavours to base its operations on the core principle of Fair Trade and strong ethical foundations. Fair Trade is a trading partnership on a global scale, which ensures that a guaranteed price is paid for produce or goods from developing countries and encourages long-term relationships and trading commitments.
Ensuring equitable trading partnerships has the potential to greatly assist development in some of the world's poorest countries. It is no secret that as a retailer, we are in business to make profits. However, Uneeka sets itself apart from others by seeking to secure relationships and partnerships with suppliers who share our ethical stance and conduct their operations and buying practices in line with Fair Trade principles, with the least negative impact on the environment. In so doing, we hope to contribute to sustainable development and secure the rights of marginalized workers and producers in developing countries; accepting responsibility for the labour conditions within our own supply chains and for our global environment.
We have adopted strong ethical policies and believe that it is these policies that make us different. By ensuring suppliers' compliance with our stringent ethical standards, Uneeka is able to give customers confidence that our goods have been produced lawfully through fair and honest dealing, without exploiting the people who made them, in decent working conditions and reducing the environmental impact during production and transportation.
Putting our ethical policies into practice requires work behind the scenes and we have integrated this policy compliance into all our business systems. We check the profile of every new supplier and require each to complete an ethical policy questionnaire, which we then assess. We will only engage suppliers when we are confident that there are no conflicts with the standards set out in our ethical policies and will not knowingly do business with suppliers that do not conform - we're not afraid to say ‘no' and turn potential suppliers away if they do not share our values.
In short, our ethical policies are our guarantee that we won't do anything at Uneeka which conflicts with the principals of fair and honest trading. So simply being our customer and choosing to buy Fair Trade, you're helping to change the world, little by little, every day.
Labour standards
Ethical trade is based on the principles of non-exploitation and compliance with certain minimum labour rights, as set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
No forced labour
Forced labour affects at least 12 million people across the world, including more than 6 million children (antislavery.org). Uneeka ensures that all labour involved in the production of their goods and products is voluntary and that there is no forced labour, including prison or debt bondage labour.
No child labour
There are 218 million child workers in the world (ilo.org). Uneeka never sources products that may have involved child labour. This means that no workers should be under the age of 15 (minimum of 14 for certain developing country exceptions); with the remediation of any child found to be working. Children need their childhood.
A fair price and a ‘living wage'
We insist on fair wages being paid to all our producers; a ‘living wage' that enables people to live with dignity and be able to support themselves and those directly dependent on them. A fair price in the local context is one that has been agreed through dialogue and participation. It covers not only the costs of production but enables production that is socially and environmentally sound. It provides fair pay to the producers and takes into account the principle of equal pay for work of the same value by women and men. This also means that all family members working on production receive a living wage where applicable and includes at least the minimum total compensation required by local law, including all allowances and benefits.
Freedom of association and collective bargaining
Uneeka respects the right to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively, and a lot of our goods are bought from producer associations and cooperatives. Cooperative groups can help to support and build upon dying traditional handicraft skills, giving producers a real sense of strength in numbers and enabling them to access broader markets; secure better deals when buying and selling through combined ordering; and to share things like tools and workshops that are often beyond their reach individually.
Safe and hygienic working conditions
Uneeka believes that goods should only be produced in conditions that are safe and in no way detrimental to the health of the workers involved. This means that our suppliers should ensure compliance and take responsibility for health and safety in their supply chains so that producers have safe and healthy working environments. This means that all steps should be taken to prevent injuries, with regular health and safety worker training, systems to detect threats to health and safety and access to bathrooms and potable water.
Working hours
Uneeka ensures working hours compliance. This means that we ask our suppliers to assure that hours worked each day and days worked each week do not exceed the legal limitations of the countries in which our goods are produced. Suppliers must comply with the applicable law of the local region but in any event to ensure that producers receive at least one day off in seven, do not exceed the legal maximum number of weekly working hours and receive voluntary overtime paid at a premium rate.
No discrimination
Uneeka strongly believes that there should be no discrimination based on race, caste, origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union or political affiliation, or age. We include this in demand of our suppliers and also support equal opportunities within our own recruitment process and human resources policy.
No harsh or inhumane treatment; no harassment and abuse
Uneeka is committed to ensuring that all efforts are undertaken to prevent verbal, physical or sexual abuse occurring throughout our supply chain. We demand this of our suppliers in their relationships with the producers and insist that no discipline, corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse is inflicted.
Fair Trade
Fair Trade accreditation
Uneeka products are primarily vetted by BAFTS (British Association for Fair Trade Shops); IFAT (World Fair Trade Organization, formerly International Fair Trade Organization); The Fairtrade Foundation and The Soil Association. Our suppliers are either accredited by one of these well-recognised Fair Trade governing bodies or we conduct a thorough review of their buying policies and working practices in the form of a self-assessment questionnaire before we agree to trade with them.
Fair Trade incorporates all of the labour standards but also includes the following principles:
Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers
Fair Trade is about working with marginalized producers who would otherwise not be able to access world markets. Uneeka buys goods from cooperatives and producer associations as well as from indigenous groups and small-scale producers.
Transparency and accountability
Fair Trade is about being fair and honest. At Uneeka we believe in being as transparent as possible about how we do business, such as in the product information we provide to our customers and with the questionnaires that each of our suppliers must complete in order to demonstrate compliance with our ethical policies.
Capacity building - to develop producers' independence
Fair Trade means establishing active relationships between the producers and the importers, whereby the producer is given guidance and advice on product development, marketing and developing skills. The relationship is one of empowerment.
Commitment to long-term trade relationships
Uneeka works with suppliers to ensure recurring employment for producers since a regular source of income and therefore ability to plan for the future is often as important as receiving a fair wage. Wherever possible, we look to secure long-term trading partnerships. We also ensure timely payments of our suppliers (and ask that our suppliers in turn pay producers on time), often paying for goods in advance wherever possible in order to help producers with procurement, which in turn helps provide stability and security.
Promoting Fair Trade
At Uneeka, we continuously strive to promote Fair Trade and to share information on these standards both in-store, online at www.uneeka.com and in the local community. We regularly work with local schools and colleges in order to help educate and raise awareness by involving students through workshops, presentations and competitions. We also provide our customers with information about our products such as how and where they are made.
Giving back to the local community
A Fair Trade partnership is one that should benefit the wider community of the producer.
At Uneeka we actively seek to encourage social awareness by purchasing from suppliers who give back to the local communities of the producers, whether this is through supporting local schools or donating a percentage of their profits to local charities etc. We also currently make regular monthly charitable donations and are closely linked with a number of our own local charities.
Environmental policy
In line with our ethical policies on labour and Fair Trade, Uneeka also considers the environmental impact of trade and seeks to minimise impact on the environment.
There are currently more than 6 billion people on Earth and there is increasing evidence of environmental destruction on a global scale much of which can be attributed to human activity such as climate change, depletion of natural resources and spiralling waste. Furthermore, during the next 50 years it is expected that the global population will increase to 9 billion and so if we carry on as we are, it is expected that environmental problems will get considerably worse. In this context, Uneeka continuously looks for new ways to improve our environmental policy and aims to minimise its impact on the environment in the following ways:
Working with our suppliers to ensure best practice production methods
Uneeka works with our suppliers to ensure products are manufactured using production methods that minimise damage to the environment. We promote environmentally responsible policies and expect similar standards from all our suppliers. Particular environmental issues include the use of natural and synthetic dyes, which can be hazardous to the producer and the environment and we are in dialogue with our suppliers regarding best management for dye waste by the producers. Most of the fabrics used in our clothing and soft furnishings are coloured using natural vegetable dyes.
Sustainable use of wood
At Uneeka we recognise the importance of sourcing products that do not contribute to the unsustainable harvest of the world's natural resources. Specifically, we seek to ensure that our furniture is made from wood that comes from sustainable forests. Specifically, our mango wood furniture comes from non-endangered sources in Java - when a tree has come to the end of its productive fruiting life it is felled and a sapling replanted in its place. Our teak furniture is also made from wood grown in sustainable, locally managed plantations. Sheesham wood, often known as Indian Rosewood, is obtained from government-managed plantations that ensure the wood gets replenished and therefore ensures sustainability.
Products made from recycled materials
Uneeka sells a range of goods made from recycled materials, as we believe that the transformation of waste into affordable and original articles can be done with real creativity and innovation whilst benefiting waste management and the environment.
Organic agriculture
Uneeka also sells a range of organic cotton goods and foodstuffs, which are organically certified. We believe that organic agriculture is more sustainable and kinder to the environment since it is concerned with long-term soil fertility and conservation issues, and does not use chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Organic agriculture is also farmer-friendly because it prevents a spiral of debt. Non-organic farming methods use chemical pesticides, which pests build up resistance to, thereby requiring the farmer to borrow money for more chemicals resulting in less profit for them. Our baby clothing is made using certified organic cotton usually sourced from Turkey.
Sensible packaging and careful shipping
This means using as little packaging as possible (whilst minimising product damage and waste), which is easily re-usable, recyclable or biodegradable. Wherever possible, we also ship products to the UK by sea rather than air.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency
Uneeka aims to reduce energy usage by increased energy efficiency in store branches and at head office: replacing light bulbs with energy efficient ones; choosing a green energy supplier; keeping windows shut when the heating is on - the simple things really.
‘Green' transport
Short and medium-distance travel is taken by rail rather than by car or air. Necessary long-haul flights to visit suppliers are offset by contributions to carbon neutral schemes. These schemes work by calculating flight emissions and then neutralising them through community projects, which save exactly the same amount of carbon dioxide.
Recycling and re-using waste
Uneeka seeks to minimise waste and ensure that there is effective control, promoting recycling wherever possible and ensuring responsible disposal. We recycle glass, paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminium.
Raising awareness
We encourage employee involvement in environmental issues so that everyone working at Uneeka may be involved in pursuing environmentally friendly policies throughout our stores. We also seek to raise customer awareness about the importance of environmental issues.
