The latest figures show that almost 46 million people, across 167 countries, are in some form of modern slavery, faced with a life of poverty, alienation and vulnerability.
Arco was the first distributor within the industry to become a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), in 2007. They have joined an alliance of leading companies, trade unions and voluntary organisations that work in partnership to improve the lives of workers around the globe.
Amendments to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 have motivated Arco to launch its own ‘Start Yours’ campaign, encouraging businesses who buy safety equipment to follow a number of guidelines to ensure ethical compliance:
- Ask suppliers about their supply chain and the factories manufacturing their products and services.
- Ask suppliers about their ethical policy and due diligence processes.
- Ask to see and have explained a supplier’s public statement any company that has a UK turnover greater than £36m and falls under the Modern Slavery Act is obliged to publish a statement,
- Be sure about your own supply chain by using suppliers that are members of the Ethical Trading Initiative or equivalent organisations.
Danny Hobson, Ethical and Quality Improvement Manager at Arco, said: “Arco takes its responsibilities very seriously and that is why we continue to develop and improve our ethical sourcing strategy. We welcome the introduction of the Modern Slavery act and the emphasis that this will put on transparency in the supply chains throughout the safety industry. Through collaboration and with each business taking responsibility then we can make a real difference in protecting the most vulnerable workers and improving worker welfare.”
Arco have created a short video to raise awareness of modern day slavery, which is available to watch here.
