Responsible Product Sourcing
Building a responsible supply chain ensures safety, high quality children’s products, which is our top sustainability priority. For over 70 years we have been a reliable partner for numerous generations of families.
Strategic Devevelopment Areas for Responsible Product Sourcing
- Responsibly processing the goods we purchase
- Purchasing environmentally friendly and safe children’s products
- Developing local production of children’s goods
Supplier Adherence to Sustainability Principles
Providing quality products to our customers means paying attention to the safety and social and environmental impact of our products and the materials that are used to manufacture them. Compliance with both the Company’s Supplier Code and local laws is a prerequisite for working with Detsky Mir.
In 2021, we conducted a sustainability audit of suppliers based on a methodology developed jointly with the Vitality Leaf ecological union. As a result of the audit, we developed recommendations on ways suppliers can improve their sustainable development practices.
In 2022, the Company plans to develop a course and provide training on changes in supplier selection and engagement arising from Detsky Mir’s newly introduced Sustainability Strategy for all current and new procurement function employees, as well as conduct regular sustainability workshops for suppliers and implement an ESG risk map with a breakdown by supplier category.
Product Safety and Quality
Detsky Mir monitors the quality and safety of goods at all stages of their life cycle: from the moment a supplier is selected to the point at which it is reviewed by our customers. The Company’s policies and systems comply with all Russian, Kazakh, and Belarusian regulatory requirements, and also take into account best international experience in the retail sector.
An efficient and well-governed safety and quality control process makes it possible for Detsky Mir to prevent defective products from reaching stores, as they are detected at the very beginning of certification during laboratory tests.
In partnership with the world’s largest manufacturers of children’s products, Detsky Mir also monitors the presence of a test report and ISO certificate, confirming that the products comply with the regulatory requirements of the manufacturer’s country, as well as the legislation of the countries of the Customs Union.
Detsky Mir manages the certification process for its private labels. Certificates of conformity for each Detsky Mir product can be checked on the website of the Russian Federal Service for Accreditation (RusAccreditation).
Responsible Use of Chemicals
Detsky Mir supports the responsible use of chemicals in the production of the goods it sells in accordance with the laws of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. In addition to regulatory compliance, the Company has developed a chemicals policy. In accordance with this policy, Company suppliers are obliged to adhere to the confirmed list of prohibited chemicals when manufacturing products purchased by the Company.
Detsky Mir became the first Russian contributor to ZHDC, an international initiative aimed to eliminate hazardous chemicals from the clothing industry’s production processes and ensure that wastewater is treated properly. The goal of the program is to implement ZDHC guidelines and tools across the supply chain.
Purchase of Goods Made from Environmentally Friendly or Recycled Materials
The use of organic cotton represents another opportunity to offer customers high-quality, sustainable products. At the end of 2021, the Company decided to focus procurement in the Apparel category on goods made from responsibly sourced materials, specifically cotton.
Such cotton typically includes organic and recycled cotton, as well as cotton produced under the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). Organic cotton is grown without the use of chemicals, pesticides, or fertilizers; material obtained from this cotton is processed without using aggressive bleaches or dyes.
In the reporting year, we placed the first orders for clothes made from recycled cotton. By the end of 2022, the share of products made from organic, recycled, and BCI cottons in the total amount of purchased cotton products is expected to reach around 19%.
Developing Local Manufacturing of Children’s Products
In 2021, the Company carried on with its program to support local manufacturers of children’s products, i.e., goods produced in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.
As at the end of the reporting year, children’s goods manufactured in countries where the Company operates as a share of total sales was 25.3%. The largest share of goods manufactured in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus was recorded in the Products for Newborns (nutrition, diapers, and cosmetics) and Large-Size Products categories, at 54.4% and 35.6%, respectively. The share of locally manufactured goods in total sales of the categories Apparel and Footwear and Toys is approximately 10%.