Code of Conduct

The cotton ART GmbH Code of Conduct

Cotton ART GmbH attaches great importance to sustainability and cooperation. Therefore, it is particularly important to us that our products are produced with social and ecological responsibility. Not only do we want to offer our customers top quality and value for money, we also ensure that our business partners guarantee a fair working environment, so that fair, safe and stable cooperation can be guaranteed at all levels.

To this end, we promote, among other things, only the sale of textiles that are harmless to health and only carry items in our range that meet the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100.

We also pursue the goal of responsible development and sustainability in the global supply chain, with a particular focus on organic cotton. It is important to us that our business partners use energy and raw materials carefully and at the same time work with us to meet the highest quality standards.

Furthermore, we refrain from using polybags for packaging or repackaging textiles after finishing and also recycle packages for shipping to reduce the environmental impact of unnecessary waste production.

As the values of the "BSCI/Business Social Compliance Initiative" are very important to us, we feel obliged to implement the BSCI Code of Conduct as part of our business relationship with our suppliers and thus promote working conditions. This includes, among other things, the right to protection against discrimination, freedom of association and adequate remuneration for the employee.

In order to ensure continuous development outside our company and to promote the global market economy, we also support charity organisations that work to create new jobs and offer children from developing countries the opportunity to shape their own future, so that people affected by poverty also get a chance to make their own choices and break out of the cycle of poverty.

To this end, we are a proud partner of Hand-in-Hand, which has managed to create 1.7 million jobs in the world's poorest countries over the last 7 years, enabling 5 million people to no longer live in extreme poverty and thousands of children to attend school.

We also support the organisation SOS-Kinderdorf e.V., which has set itself the task of giving children a safe home. SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. is one of the major sponsoring associations in the globally active umbrella organisation of SOS-Kinderdorf International and invests 85% of its income directly in project work and support on site.

Welthungerhilfe is also one of the organisations we support. It is particularly distinguished by its work in crisis areas in order to provide humanitarian aid to the weakest of the weak and to support them with food and rations.

Their aim is to directly tackle one of the biggest and at the same time most solvable problems and to contribute with all their actions to solving the problem in a sustainable way.

The Code of Conduct applies to a successful cooperation between the partners cotton ART GmbH and the suppliers, service providers and subcontractors. A high level of integrity as well as living the values developed together are indispensable prerequisites. This applies not only to business with cotton ART GmbH, but also to other customers, intermediaries, employees, competitors and the public sector.

The basis for all this are the values worked out by the parties involved:

Trust | Our cooperation is characterised by trust.

Appreciation | Appreciation is the basis for lasting cooperation in a spirit of partnership.

Quality | Compliance with and acceptance of the jointly defined quality.

Respect | Respect means meeting each other at eye level.

Fairness | Fairness is the basis of cooperation in partnership.

Honesty | "Honesty is the best policy" Honesty is the basis of a long partnership.

Reliability | Reliability means that jointly made agreements are kept.

Communication | Clear communication promotes a perfect result.

Critical faculties |We see our critical faculties as an opportunity for improvement.

Goal orientation |Both partners benefit from a common goal orientation.

Competence |Our cooperation is characterised by the competence of our employees and managers. Great importance is attached to cohesion.

All those involved are required in particular

1. comply with the applicable laws and regulations

2. to conduct all business without unauthorised gratuities (bribery). 1.

2.all participants are requested to avoid gifts to employees in particular. Customary occasional gifts or invitations of low value such as business notebooks or calendars are excluded. Gifts should not exceed an amount of 50 euros. Should this amount be exceeded - for whatever reason - this will be done without exception in consultation with the respective management.

3. maintain high ethical standards, respecting human dignity and the rights of the individual. 1.

3.1. all participants are required to respect the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular

3.1.1. ensure safe and healthy working conditions.

3.1.2. respect individuals and not allow discrimination.

3.1.3. pay fair wages and respect other entitlements arising from the employment relationships of employees.

3.1.4. allow freedom of association and choice of employment.

3.1.5. not to require excessive hours of work from its employees.

3.1.6. to eliminate child labour.

3.1.7. to keep business, financial and technical data and mutual correspondence confidential.

Each is encouraged not only to assist each other in complying with this Code of Conduct, but also to inform each other when a possible violation of this Code of Conduct becomes known. Only the respective managing directors are to be informed of this.

All participants are also encouraged to operate in the most environmentally friendly manner possible and to constantly strive for improvements in this area.