Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person's liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.
Oxwash is committed to combat slavery and human trafficking in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This statement describes the steps taken by Oxwash to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chain.
Organisational structure
Oxwash provides sustainable laundry and drycleaning to commercial customers nationwide in the UK, with operations in Swindon, Oxford, Cambridge and London.
Oxwash has no ownership interests in the supply chain but cooperates with approximately 20 key suppliers and 10 subcontractors across the UK and Europe. Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out our requirements to our suppliers, and we regularly audit our suppliers to ensure they comply with our requirements.
Oxwash recognises that a collaborative approach is needed, we work directly with our suppliers to build capacity and to make long-term improvements at their factories and organisations.
Policies in relation to Slavery and Human Trafficking
In our Supplier Code of Conduct, we set high standards for our suppliers and subcontractors to ensure, among other things, that respect for human rights and labour rights in their organisations are understood and met. We set out our requirements for living wages, child labour, working conditions and labour rights.
Due Diligence Process
We seek to minimise the adverse impacts of our business in our own operations as well as our supply chain. Our due diligence procedures are based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation principles.
Identify, prevent and mitigate any risk of adverse impact on human rights in all our operations and business relationships
Consider any adverse impact we may cause or contribute to through our supply chain practices, as well as the adverse impact we may cause or contribute to within our business
Remediate any direct or indirect adverse impact that our business operations have on human rights
Promote respect for human rights among our employees, partners, suppliers and other business relations
Report on and account for our work with human rights continuously and once a year
Based on our due diligence process we have identified that the highest risk of violating human rights is in some areas of our supply chain. We have identified forced labour, discrimination and child labour to be forms of slavery and human trafficking that could occur.
Prevention and effectiveness training
In order to avoid adverse impacts on human rights in our supply chain, we take necessary measures to improve working conditions for the workers and to protect their rights. The foundation of our due diligence in the supply chain is through third-party audits or our own audits through visits to our suppliers ensuring that they are in compliance with our Code of Conduct. This way we can identify issues that may need to be prevented, mitigated or remediated and strengthen our knowledge about where and how to engage further. Our aim is to help create a strong foundation for management and workers, which they can use in their further joint efforts to ensure workers’ rights in factories, hubs and organisations in our supply chain.
Training and Capacity Building
Oxwash is committed to providing training for all staff members on slavery and human trafficking. This training will cover:
What slavery and human trafficking are
The signs of slavery and human trafficking
How to report slavery and human trafficking
Oxwash's policies and procedures on slavery and human trafficking
When new staff members join Oxwash, they will receive training as part of their induction process. Regular training will also be provided to existing staff members. Staff members who carry out high-risk activities, such as procurement, recruitment, and supply chain management, will also receive specific training.
To ensure that the training is accessible and effective, Oxwash will make it available to all staff members, monitor the effectiveness of the training and make necessary improvements.
Read our Supplier Code of Conduct here.