ASOS signs landmark agreement to secure supply chain workers’ rights

ASOS has signed a legally-binding, landmark agreement with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to protect transport workers’ rights and safety across its supply chains.

Under a legally-binding human rights due diligence (HRDD) agreement, ASOS and the ITF will cooperate in conducting HRDD in ASOS’ transport operations and logistics.

ITF will support ASOS in its HRDD policy design, the identification, avoidance and mitigation of risk, and the determination of remedies if rights are violated.

ASOS and ITF will also engage with the group’s brand partners to share resources and educational tools on HRDD relating to transport and logistics.

In addition, they will work together on climate change and gender equality, which they say are key issues affecting transport and logistics workers in both directly operated and subcontracted transport operations in global supply chains.

Under the agreement, the following elements will form the basis of conduct of HRDD in ASOS’ transport operations and logistics:

• Meeting or exceeding the policies and practises outlined in the ITF Supply Chain Human Rights Principles and the ITF’s Eight Principles for Decent Work in Warehousing, Distribution and Logistics
• A monitoring and compliance mechanism based on worker-centred HRDD approaches, including the ITF’s HRDD Guidance
• Providing for or cooperating in remediation for rights violations, including when appropriate through collective bargaining with the ITF and/or its affiliated trade union members
• Creating an enabling environment for mature industrial relations in ASOS’ own operations and supply chains; where possible, granting the ITF and its affiliates access to transport and logistics suppliers and workplaces within ASOS’ supply chains

In addition, ASOS will consider the ITF as a stakeholder for any relevant legislation and where possible join the ITF in its advocacy for high standards in transport supply chains.

José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, ASOS CEO, said: “Enhancing the human rights of everyone involved in our value chain – from designing and making clothes, to warehousing, shipping and delivery – has been a core mission for ASOS for close to a decade. 

“Our new agreement with ITF will enable us to take our work even further and extend our action to protecting and improving the human rights of workers in our transport and logistics supply chain, reducing risk and improving supply chain resilience while delivering positive change for the people supporting our business.”