Oriental Weavers’ position as a lowest-cost producer does not preclude responsible employment practices. Accordingly, Oriental Weavers adheres to the International Declaration of Human Rights and maintains a set of transparent human resources policies and procedures for management and labor as well as our suppliers and service providers. Absolutely no form of forced or compulsory labour exists at Oriental Weavers. Oriental Weavers only employs adults over 18 years of age, and the Group makes it adamantly clear to all suppliers and affiliates that we will not conduct any business with entities that do not follow the same labor standards. We are vigilant in our efforts to ensure that no child labor is used directly or indirectly in any component of any Oriental Weavers product. As part of these efforts, Oriental Weavers has established a committee that is responsible for enforcing this policy for overseas suppliers of our hand-made products. Members of this committee randomly check supplier locations to ensure that no child labour is being used in their production processes; in the event of irregularities, contracts are terminated on the spot.
Corporate Responsibility
Oriental Weavers firmly believes that a successful business must respect the environment and communities in which it operates. To ensure that everyone from executive management to the sales floor are operating from the same play book, management has set and maintained the highest standards of ethics and sustainable operations. The Board of Directors annually reviews and, if necessary, updates the company’s codes of conduct and business ethics. The company regularly communicates to all Oriental Weavers employees values and codes of conduct and sees that they adhere to it.
In every country in which we operate, Oriental Weavers adheres to industry best practices, and our wages, benefits, labor policies, and management procedures comply with or exceed domestic requirements. Since inception, we have made it a policy that senior management interacts with all employees and that committees are formed with representatives from all departments. One of these committees is comprised of both management and Union Representatives, and another is responsible for salary reviews and bonuses. These committees ensure that no opportunity is missed for grievances to be aired and corrective action can be swiftly taken where need be. In Egypt, we provide a number of additional benefits to our workforce including subsidized housing and free medical care for employees and their families at a hospital established by the Chairman in 10th of Ramadan City. The company has also established an annual raffle, open to all employees, the winners of which are sent on the Hajj, the holy Muslim Pilgrimage.
Oriental Weavers abides by a corporate environmental policy that commits the company to the consistent improvement of our production processes to minimize the adverse impact of emissions to the environment. Consistent with this internal policy, Oriental Weavers maintains ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certifications. In addition to these international standards, the company complies with a host of client specifications relating to the procurement and use of raw materials in the production process. For example, European companies such as Ikea and Marks & Spencer require Oriental Weavers to comply with EU environmental and occupational health and safety standards while American companies such as Home Depot require compliance with USEPA standards. Each of our major clients audits Oriental Weavers for compliance with their respective standards on an annual basis. We in turn extend these compliance standards to our own domestic and international suppliers of raw materials. Oriental Weavers makes a conscientious effort, through monitoring and investing in equipment upgrades, to optimize resource input and minimize waste from production processes. For example, our natural wool and spinning and dyeing plant utilizes radio frequency dyeing technology that eliminates the need for steam boilers and eliminates noise and vibration in the drying process. Process waste latex is collected and recycled back into the production process. Carpet pile brushing and trimming waste is captured via vacuum units, bagged and sold to independent contractors for the manufacture of automobile mats. Oriental Weavers is committed to continuously initiating various procedures to recycle waste materials and to always research and develop new ideas in the field of environmental protection under the ISO-14001. We will endeavor to further decrease our emissions and continue to contribute to the protection of the environment.