(For-profit organisation)

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Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. is a South African luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by the South African businessman Johann Rupert. The group’s activities and products include jewellery, fine watchmaking and premium accessories, which encompasses writing instruments, leather goods and fashion. Adopting fair and ethical labour practices and promoting human rights is central to its reputation and on-going success.

Thus Richemont requires its business partners to adhere to the high standards it sets, including mainly the fight against any kind of human trafficking.

Richemont is the eighth biggest company in the Swiss Market Index and, as of 2012, it is the second largest luxury goods company in the world, owning several of the world’s leading companies in the field of luxury goods. Richemont has a Code of behaviour, the Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes an endorsement of International Labour Organisation Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other internationally recognised labour practice standards. The Code covers many areas including the following ones:

- Healthy and safe working conditions: providing a healthy and safe working environment in accordance with applicable laws and regulations
- Wages and working hours: complying with local legislation on minimum wages, working hours and employee benefits
- No child labour: not employing people under the age of 15 or younger than the age for completing compulsory education
- No forced employment: not using forced labour and not using employment where terms are not voluntary
- No disciplinary treatment: not subjecting people to harassment, violence or intimidation

Richemont is opposed to slavery and human trafficking and desires that its supply chain to be free of these scourges. Richemont’s Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (‘CSR Committee’) has the internal responsibility for evaluating this area and, with the full support of the Maisons, has evaluated the Group’s supply chain activities. Richemont, through its involvement in the Responsible Jewellery Council (‘RJC’), also seeks to ensure compliance with the RJC’s standards relating to slavery and human trafficking. The RJC was established in 2005 to promote responsible ethical sourcing, human rights, social and environmental practices in the gold and diamond supply chains. Richemont and its Maisons have also taken specific steps to increase employee awareness and compliance regarding slavery and human trafficking issues. Richemont’s Corporate Social Responsibility Guidelines, which articulates the standards Richemont expects its managers, employees and suppliers to uphold, specifically articulate Richemont’s zero-tolerance policy regarding forced labour.

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