Responsibility and Ethics

At Poddy and Black we believe that business behaviour should reflect the values of the people who own and run the business . We believe in acting responsibly and sustainably in everything we do and recognise that our ways of working can make a difference to our impact on the world. We believe that sustainable business practice in all its meaning can make a difference to all our stakeholders including our customers, our community of suppliers, and one day to our employees. Right now our business is tiny ( in fact we are just 2 sisters doing everything ourselves), we are learning every step of the way and we know we might not always get it right – but our ambitions to do things the right way are great .

Through our love of gardening and the natural world we encourage everyone (no matter who they are or where they live ) to connect with nature and benefit from the healing power of time spent appreciating nature in in all its beauty and glory. Just as the plant world is diverse and marvellous so is the human world and we will do everything we can to make sure that all our customers, partners, suppliers, employees and stakeholders feel equal, respected and valued.

Social justice is a central theme in the work of making fashion and footwear sustainable and we strive to reflect our belief in social equity in all our actions and in particular within the supply chain. We know that fashion and footwear production is a complex business that can be impactful on the environment, our communities and the people who work in our supply chain. We believe that by following our values through good business practice we can help improve the lives and sustain the livelihoods of the people in the communities in which we operate and support global efforts to minimise the impact of our business on the environment. So for example we will ;

Never cancel our orders simply because business is slow because we know that the people who end up paying for this are the workers in factories or the factory owner.
Never push our suppliers to sell goods to us at unsustainable cost prices. Instead we make it clear that through the fair prices that we pay the factory supplier must pay their workers fully and legally and that they must be able to make a profit so that their business can develop and continue to support the development of the people in their community.
Behave in a way that is respectful to our supplier partners and never push them to behave in anything other than the best interests of the people they work with and the planet we all inhabit.
Never knowingly choose raw materials that cause avoidable harm to the planet just because they are cheaper. Instead we will strive to use the least impactful materials available to us and where possible use recycled materials in an effort to reduce our reliance on virgin fibres and materials. We will trace our raw materials back to source as much as possible so we know where and how everything is made.

We encourage our business partners ( especially those in the supply chain) to work with us and wherever possible to do more than the legal minimum ; to push towards continuous improvement in their operations with regards to the key areas of ethical trading, environmental protection and business ethics. We will work together to create a business environment that supports the delivery of our goals by making sure we understand the challenges and opportunities in our supply chain and by working in a spirit of partnership with our suppliers. We continuously review our standards with our suppliers and have their agreement that they share our values and that this minimum standard is achievable. You are welcome to read the Poddy and Black Supply Chain Standards document in full, for details please drop us a line at ; hello@poddyandblack.com and use Supply Chain Standards in the title of your email.