Supply Chain News South Africa

Woolworths ups transparency by making supplier list public

With its target of having a fully transparent and traceable supply chain by 2025, Woolworths Holdings Limited has become the first major South African retailer to publish a list of suppliers that manufacture its Fashion, Beauty and Home products.

This is now available on both the Woolworths and Woolworths Holdings Limited websites, and the latter also features supplier lists of the Country Road Group and David Jones.

“This is a significant step in our progress towards our Good Business Journey Vision 2025+ goals and represents our commitment to a fully transparent, traceable and ethical supply chain across our operations. All of our product suppliers are subjected to ongoing social and ethical audits that are aimed at setting global best practice benchmarks when it comes to caring for people and the planet. They help to ensure the well-being of employees and support of communities, which has always been important to our business, and is increasingly of concern to our customers. By making this list of suppliers transparent, we are now empowering Woolies’ customers to make informed and better choices,” said Lawrence Pillay, Woolworths Holdings Group head of sourcing.

In addition, to its supply chain transparency goals, the primary Woolworths Vision 2025+ goals include that all private-label fashion and home products are designed to be reused, repaired, repurposed or recycled by 2025. Woolworths is also working to ensure that all energy comes from renewable sources by 2030 and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Pillay concluded, “Transparency is foundational to achieving systemic change in the global fashion industry. Publishing this list including suppliers’ names, locations and number of employees is a vital step towards a fashion industry that is environmentally sustainable, accountable and fair. Our social and ethical compliance audits record the conditions of industry workers and help to advance our suppliers on their own journeys to ensuring dignified livelihoods and safe, equitable employment in the communities where they operate. By working closely together, from raw materials through the supply chain, to our stores and into the lives of consumers, we can achieve peace of mind for all. Reaching this milestone now in 2021, gives us momentum to forge ahead with deeper transparency in our supply chain as well as position us to tackle our other important and ambitious GBJ Vision 2025+ goals.”

The fashion, beauty and home supplier list of Woolworths Holdings Limited is published here.

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