It’s official: 100 out of 100 points on the Brand Performance Check
Yes, you read that right! Dawn has once again received 100 out of 100 points in the Fair Wear Foundation's Brand Performance Check! This is now the second time we have achieved this score, and so far we are the only company that has ever done so. To celebrate this special moment with you – and to explain what these 100 points actually mean – we interviewed our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager, Rachel.
She explains how the assessment process works, who was involved, and what the result means for Dawn. Read on to find out more!
Rachel, could you please explain simply what the Brand Performance Check does?
Yes, of course! The Brand Performance Check is a key element of Fair Wear's special “Shared Responsibility” approach. Its goal is to ensure greater social responsibility in the production of clothes and thereby improve working conditions for factory workers. This requires changes at different levels. While many of the original improvement approaches focused primarily on the factories themselves, the Fair Wear Foundation sees how much influence companies acting as buyers of the produced clothing have on working conditions. And the Brand Performance Check is essentially a tool with which the activities of Fair Wear members – such as Dawn – can be evaluated and published.
What does 100 out of 100 points mean?
100 out of 100 points can only be achieved if the company takes responsibility, works transparently, and continuously strives for improvements. The Fair Wear Foundation assesses various criteria, such as purchasing practices, grievance management, or a company's overall transparency. In all these different areas, the company receives points, which are ultimately added up to form an overall score.
How do you ensure that the Fair Wear Foundation receives all the necessary information for the evaluation?
Keeping all reports and information up to date is an ongoing process that is largely handled by the factory. That is why regular communication is so important. Marian (founder), Kieu and Thien (Board of Directors), Oanh (CSR Manager), Trang, Hang and Ngoc (HR Team), and Tam (Production Manager) are most heavily involved in the process.
In your opinion, what is our greatest strength regarding CSR?
Our greatest strength is definitely the close cooperation with the production team in Vietnam. This is not only about direct communication and shared responsibilities, but also about the fact that Dawn can implement a completely new concept of production planning through close cooperation. This makes it possible for the factory to plan its production capacities itself. Instead of “dictating” the timing and process, Dawn completely reverses the process and lets the factory set its own timing, so that capacities and utilization can be taken into account.
What's next, and what can we continue to improve?
We have already achieved a lot, but of course, there is always room for improvement. In the future, we want to expand our area of responsibility even further. At the end of the day, our priority is to secure jobs, ensure the financial stability of our workers, and make sure that our factory is a happy place.
If you want to learn more detailed information about the Brand Performance Check, you can read the full report on the Fair Wear Foundation website.
