Business Leaders

PROFILE

Anupa is a luxury lifestyle accessory brand, producing ranges of leather bags, belts, and wallets, as well as chess sets, travelling and yoga accessories and jewellery.

Each Anupa design is embellished with a piece of tourmaline and intricate beadwork, making each item bespoke.

Anupa works with communities and production units in Vietnam to create sustainable employment, build skills and create opportunities for local co-operatives and producer groups.

Anupa encourages and shares knowledge with local Vietnamese businesses to empower them to understand and develop sustainable and ethical production methods.

Having opened the very first sustainable luxury store in Vietnam, the anupa boutique is also used as a foundation to support other local sustainable designers.

ETHICAL POLICY

1. Ethical Focus, Certification and Standards

Anupa is committed to:

•Developing production systems which benefit local Vietnamese communities , build capacity and skills
•Working with suppliers to develop and encourage the highest ethical standards, and, where certification is not in place, supporting a progressive approach towards this
•Building significant relationships with suppliers at all stages of production and supporting an expanding workforce.
•Developing training packages and focusing on sustainable employment for Anupa employees

2. Business Structure and Practices

Anupa is committed to:

•Integrating sustainability and a fair deal for producers at the heart of business practices through business structure and governance
•Collaborating with designers to increase social and environmental benefits in Vietnam via the Anupa Vietnam boutique
•Developing trade licensing agreements to increase stores in Vietnam to provide more sustainable employment
•Creating and supporting a working environment which invests in and empowers employees and staff, develops skills and ensures fair remuneration for all contributions to the work of Anupa
•Supporting equal opportunities for individuals regardless of race, background or gender in all activities
•Marketing: communicating honestly, fairly and transparently the work and goals of Anupa to customers, and raising awareness about the importance of sustainable practices
•Marketing: taking an ethical approach to marketing policy and materials, taking into account a positive and healthy image of women, and considering the impact of advertising on vulnerable groups

3. Sourcing and Supply Chain Policies

Anupa is committed to:

•Building long term and sustainable relationships with suppliers, helping to improve factory standards and obtain certification
•Where possible, supporting disadvantaged areas and communities through production practices
•Investigating and avoiding products made using toxic and harmful materials and chemicals
•Working to minimise energy and water usage, unnecessary packaging and waste, and encourage recycling within supply chain and supply chain processes.
•Avoiding products which use scarce or endangered natural resources
•Developing and guaranteeing the highest quality standards in all product ranges

4. Factories

Anupa is committed to:

•Developing long term relationships with factories and production units
•Working in line with the Ethical Trading Initiative base code for all factory production
•Encouraging SA 8000 certification by factories, and seeking and using SA 8000 certified factories where feasible. Visiting and engaging with workers stakeholder groups where possible
•Supporting encouraging factory community schemes – which offer training, capacity building and better facilities for workers and their communities.
•Facilitating links between factories and smaller scale and fairtrade producer groups to maximise benefits to local Vietnamese communities

5. Fair Trade & Community Producer Organisations & Co-operatives

Anupa is committed to:

•Working to support local communities through Anupa’s production practices, including training, skills building and empowerment
•Working with other organisations where possible to the develop the means for the whole supply chain to be certified fair trade
•Working with WFTO and WFTO partners in Vietnam to increase support for producers to reach fair trade standards and become certified.

6. Culture and Skills

Anupa is committed to:

•Changing the perception of Vietnamese produced goods, and proving that luxury products can be made to high standards, to encourage sourcing from Vietnam and other Asian countries.
•Supporting and reviving traditional skills through working with beading and semi-precious stone producers and supporting groups towards increased market access for products and a sustainable business model.
•Using design and innovation sensitively, to create new markets for traditional products and skills.
•Developing a long term relationship with suppliers and building workers skills

7. Key Targets

1 year targets:
To encourage high ethical standards in line with SA 8000, ETI and WFTO with suppliers
To develop training packages for workers skill building, and managerial training
To develop company structure and governance to integrate sustainability
To develop opportunities for collaboration to increase social and environmental impact
To access funding to increase and develop Anupas work in vietnam
To build awareness of the Anupa brand in the UK and France.

5 year targets:
To support local disadvantaged communities in Vietnam by supporting the development of sustainable practices and including them into the Anupa supply chain
To support suppliers to gain certification/ improved standards, and where possible, work with other businesses and WFTO
To expand in Vietnam to increase opportunities for local communities