Being responsible where it all starts – at farm level
In 2020, Nudie Jeans joined Sağ Salim, a program developed by Outland Denim, collaborating with Precision Solution Group and our Turkish supplier, Bossa Denim.
The aim of the Sağ Salim program is to support and protect cotton farmers in Türkiye. Workers who are vulnerable to exploitation, slavery, and unsafe working conditions, plus implement methods to resolve the problems.
Some of the areas targeted are organic cotton fields in the Izmir region of Türkiye, where we source organic cotton for our products. Sağ Salim engages with the workers directly, and provides labor monitoring solutions across several tiers in the supply chain, and assigns a committee of cross-sector stakeholders to investigate and remediate any issues.
In the first year, we reached out to and engaged with workers. This helped identify wage issues, discrimination, living and working conditions, working hours, health and childcare, lack of grievance mechanisms, and more. We weren't aware of some of these issues – and that's the great thing about supply chain transparency – now we know, and we can act fast and address the problems immediately.
Some milestones we reached during the first 12 months include:
A 173% increase of engagement from workers at the cotton farm level over six months, likely making them more aware of signs of risk of possible exploitation.
Approximately 300 field workers were provided with protective equipment in 2020, directly responding to the Sağ Salim hotline reports.
Through evidence provided to fabric suppliers through the Sağ Salim program, it has resulted in a shift in attitude and the implementation of social auditing at the farm level.
Over the next year, the Sağ Salim program will focus on audit follow-ups at the farm level and provide training for these workers. Keeping the workers safe and ensuring they have a safe, fair, and decent working environment is our top priority. The men and women working in the Nudie Jeans supply chain play an essential part in our success. Their safety and well-being are a top priority. As is our participation in the Sağ Salim program.
