Sustainable Sourcing Policy

This policy defines the minimum environmental, social and chemical standards MZ Global Trading applies when selecting and retaining manufacturing partners, and the commitments we make to buyers who source through us. It applies to all orders, all product categories and all factories in our network.

1. Ethical Labour Standards

• No child labour and no forced, bonded or involuntary labour, in line with ILO core conventions.
• Legal minimum wages or above, documented working hours, and freedom of association respected.
• Safe buildings and workplaces — fire safety, machine guarding and emergency preparedness verified at audit.
• Factories must hold a current social audit (amfori BSCI, Sedex/SMETA, WRAP or SA8000); critical findings disqualify a facility until remediated.

2. Environmental Responsibility

• Preference for vertically integrated and cluster-local supply chains, reducing transport emissions between processing stages.
• Dye-houses must operate functioning effluent treatment and comply with national environmental regulations.
• Support for certified sustainable fibre programs: organic cotton (GOTS), Better Cotton (BCI), recycled fibres (GRS) — offered on request for any compatible product.
• Progressive water- and energy-reduction practices (low liquor-ratio dyeing, heat recovery) weighted positively in factory scoring.

3. Chemical & Product Safety

• Products comply with the destination market's chemical regulations: EU REACH, US CPSIA (children's products), UK REACH.
• OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification available across product categories; Class 1 (baby-safe) for infant items.
• Restricted Substances List (RSL) compliance — see our separate RSL reference document for substance groups and limits.
• Azo dyes releasing restricted arylamines, chlorinated phenols, cadmium, lead and nickel above limits are prohibited in all products.

4. Traceability & Transparency

• Every order is traceable to its producing factory; certificates supplied belong to that specific unit.
• Chain-of-custody documentation (transaction certificates) provided for GOTS and GRS claimed orders.
• Buyers may audit, or appoint third parties to audit, the allocated factory with reasonable notice.

5. Continuous Improvement

This policy is reviewed annually. Factories failing to maintain the standards above are suspended from the network until verified remediation. Buyers with stricter codes of conduct may supply their own requirements, which we contractually flow down to the producing factory.