CORPORATE RESPONSIBLITY
EMPOWER OUR PEOPLE
At Oxford, our key strategy is to own brands that make people happy. We recognize the success of this strategy starts with our own people.
We believe treating people right is a key to success over the long-term and, importantly, it is simply the right thing to do. We are committed to a welcoming, rewarding, engaging, and inclusive workplace for all our employees. We are also committed to fair and safe working conditions for everyone engaged in our supply chain.
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A WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE
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Respect for people is a core principle for us. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace. We warmly welcome all people. We embrace our differences. We invite a diversity of perspectives. We respect the laws of the communities in which we operate, but our own Code of Conduct often sets a higher standard of conduct than what the law itself requires.
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Oxford is committed to equal opportunity. All employment decisions – recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, mobility, training, development, discipline and termination – are based on the individual’s qualifications. We do not tolerate any unlawful conduct, discrimination or harassment based on age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, or any other legally protected class.
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The charts below provide insights into the diversity of Oxford's workforce by geography, gender and ethnicity.
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A REWARDING AND ENGAGING WORKPLACE
We believe…
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Our success depends on having the right people with the right skills in the right places doing the right things
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Potential can be cultivated - everyone can grow and develop
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People are happiest when they’re engaged and rewarded fairly
In 2018 we launched an initiative to assess how well we’re doing in managing performance, developing our people, and putting our talent to its highest and best use across our company. This is an ongoing effort, and we continue to make enhancements across our businesses in how we manage performance and develop people. Our aim is greater employee engagement and ultimately a more effective organization – a true “win-win.” As part of this, throughout our brands and business we provide employees with training, growth and development opportunities, including on-the-job training, learning and development programs, and other educational programs. We also have tuition assistance programs for qualified employees who seek to further their education by attending a college or university.
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Performance assessments are conducted for employees throughout our brands and businesses. By measuring performance against established competencies and providing feedback and coaching, we provide our employees the opportunity to grow and develop. Effective performance management processes are also a key part of our pay for performance strategy. We offer competitive pay and attractive benefits programs. Benefits offered may vary by brand, position and location. Most employees receive a base salary as well as paid time off. Oxford offers employer-provided health coverage to eligible employees, retirement savings options and financial protection benefits such as life insurance.
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SAFE, HUMANE AND ETHICAL WORKPLACES WITHIN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
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Our success as a company is dependent upon people across the globe. 99% of the products that we sell are produced by third party factories with which we work, almost all of which are located outside of the United States. We are committed to fair and safe working conditions for everyone engaged in our supply chain.
The map below illustrates where our products are sourced:
Although we do not own the factories in which the vast majority of our products are made, we take on the responsibility to ensure our products are manufactured only in safe, humane and ethical working conditions. We believe this starts with identifying, screening for and working with vendors who share our core values of respect and equality in the treatment of their employees.
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We have a dedicated in-house factory compliance team which, under the direction of executive leadership, is charged with assuring that the factories we use meet our standards. We supplement our own team with support from a globally recognized, third-party factory compliance audit firm. On an ongoing basis, we conduct risk assessments and formal and informal on-site audits of our factories to ensure compliance with our standards. In fiscal 2019 alone, we conducted 84 risk assessments and 138 onsite audits of our Tier 1 suppliers.
When we identify compliance concerns within a supplier’s facility, we work in cooperation with them to remediate those issues, ensuring that labor conditions improve within the factory and that workers' interests are best served. That said, we are always prepared to terminate relationships with factories that do not live up to our requirements.
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We require all of our suppliers to comply with the laws and regulations for working standards within their local jurisdiction. At the same time, we recognize that not all countries maintain or enforce stringent regulations that ensure human rights, health and safety for their workers in the manner that we expect. Therefore, we require our factories to do more than the law may require. To ensure that our factories understand our requirements, each of our business groups has a Code of Vendor Conduct that applies to its suppliers. These Codes of Vendor Conduct are based on the following fundamental principles, among others:
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Fair Wages – workers must be compensated fairly and for all time worked
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Working Hours – workers must be provided appropriate rest periods, holidays and days off
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Child Labor – the unlawful use of child labor in our supply chain is strictly prohibited
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Forced Labor – we do not tolerate the use of bonded, indentured, prison or forced labor in the manufacture of our products
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Discrimination – our factories must employ workers based on ability, not gender, age, disability, race or other factors
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Health & Safety – workers within our supply chain must be ensured a clean, safe and healthful work environment
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Discipline – corporal punishment, including mental and physical disciplinary actions, and monetary fines should not be permitted within our supply chain
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Harassment – harassment of workers, including sexual harassment, should not occur
If you’d like to review the Codes of Vendor Conduct for our business groups, please see as follows:
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(applicable to our Lanier Apparel and other business groups)
CONFLICT MINERALS POLICY
To help ensure that the raw materials in our products are sourced in a socially responsible manner, we maintain a Conflict Minerals Policy. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 requires that public companies file a report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing whether their products contain certain materials sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other neighboring countries that have funded armed conflict and human rights abuses. Our policy facilitates compliance with the requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act.
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A PDF of that policy can be downloaded here: Oxford Conflict Minerals Policy
ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY FOR SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Our brands manage their supply chain carefully and continually assess suppliers’ compliance with the highest standards for legal and ethical conduct, which includes, among other things, zero tolerance for slavery and human trafficking. Internal training on the Codes of Vendor Conduct help to ensure that employees are aware of the issues surrounding human trafficking and slavery and that processes are implemented to mitigate this risk. As part of our compliance program, we comply with The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, which is focused on ensuring that retailers improve their practices to ensure there is no slavery or human trafficking in the supply chain.
COMMITMENT FOR RESPONSIBLE RECRUITING
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All of our brands are signatories to the “Commitment to Responsible Recruiting” sponsored by the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Fair Labor Association. This is a proactive industry effort to address potential forced labor risks for migrant workers in the global supply chain by working to eliminate conditions that can lead to forced labor. We commit to work with our global supply chain partners to create conditions so that:
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No workers pay for their job;
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Workers retain control of their travel documents and have full freedom of movement; and
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All workers are informed of the basic terms of their employment before leaving home.
COMPLIANCE AND TONE AT THE TOP
Ensuring safe, humane and ethical working conditions throughout our supply chain is not only the right thing to do, it is also critical to the long-term sustainability of our company. This is why we believe that the proper tone must be set from the top.
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We have an active Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program that is overseen by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors. As part of the ERM program, we evaluate the risks faced by our company and our businesses, including those that may exist within our supply chain. Through the ERM program, we have an organized framework within which to evaluate risks that may be inherent in our supply chain, including those that may exist for the employees of our suppliers. We assess and implement strategies for reducing, eliminating and/or mitigating these risks and improving working conditions for those within our supply chain.