As a company with a strong focus on sustainable design, we strive to be open about what we do and how we do it. You should be able to know how all of our products are manufactured and the best way for us to ensure this is by being fully transparent. Our long-term work to ensure good working conditions at our suppliers is based on the UN's guiding principles for business and human rights, which are integrated into our processes to identify and minimize risks, evaluate suppliers and check compliance with the requirements we set. To read more about our commitments to the employees who work in our supply chains and how we work with Human Rights Due Diligence, please indulge in our annual sustainability report.
We are committed to implementing practices that aim to ensure all of our products are made under fair working conditions and in safe environments at all levels.
Our staff regularly visit all suppliers to ensure that working conditions comply with our requirements. In addition, external audits are conducted at all supplier facilities to identify areas for improvement. Together with our suppliers, we establish corrective action plans to support the continuous improvement of working conditions. To further support this work, Sandqvist provides training for factory employees on their rights and internal complaints handling procedures.
These efforts to ensure good working conditions across all factories producing our products are regularly reviewed and documented to maintain transparency regarding the manufacturing of our products.
We are proud of the suppliers that manufacture our products and are happy to share where our goods are produced. Here you will find an overview of the factories we work with, what they do, and how we collaborate to improve working conditions.
In 2020, we started working with Pungkook Saigon II (PK), a factory located in Saigon, Vietnam. This factory produces all of our recycled polyester bags, meaning the majority of our products are made at PK. PK is a large factory with around 4,500 workers, and we work closely with an agent in Vietnam who regularly visits the factory and is actively involved in the social sustainability work within the production process.
The factory underwent an external audit in 2020, and since then we have worked together on implementing corrective actions. The factory was also visited by Sandqvist during 2022.
PK is also part of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Better Work programme in Vietnam. This programme works to ensure decent working conditions in Vietnamese factories through assessments, training and capacity building.
In 2022, we started working with another factory owned by Pungkook Saigon, namely Pungkook Saigon Long An (PKLA). This facility is also located in Ho Chi Minh City but is significantly smaller than PK II, employing around 385 workers, giving Sandqvist greater leverage and influence.
The factory reopened after the Covid-19 pandemic and had not yet reached full production capacity in 2022. Sandqvist is proud to be part of this development and sees it as an opportunity to establish high standards for working conditions and human rights from the beginning.
Before establishing production at this facility, our Vietnamese agent conducted visits to ensure awareness of our Code of Conduct and to verify that conditions were in place to comply with our requirements regarding audits and complaint systems.
At the end of 2022, an external audit was conducted within the framework of the ILO’s Better Work programme, resulting in an improvement plan that we continuously monitor to ensure timely and appropriate corrective actions. The audit identified no zero-tolerance (critical) violations.
The factory was also visited by Sandqvist staff during 2022.
Butler Leather is located in Chennai, India, and specializes in high-end leather. This is where we produce most of our leather bags and small leather goods. We have been working with Butler Leather since 2009.
The factory is a family-owned business run by Anjum, her husband Noor, and Noor’s brother Zafar. Butler Leather was established with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and much of their equipment comes from a former sewing factory in Sweden. They employ around 130 people, and the majority of their production is dedicated to Sandqvist.
Working conditions at the factory have undergone several external reviews. In addition, training has been carried out to strengthen employees’ awareness of their rights in the workplace.
As part of our commitment to full transparency, Sandqvist has listed the manufacturers of all materials used in our products, including fabrics and leather. Trims such as rivets and padding will be included in future transparency reports.
Synthetic materials, including the Cordura and recycled nylon used by Sandqvist, are manufactured by Leejotex. Leejotex is a Korean company producing high-quality materials, including Cordura, bluesign® approved fabrics and Oeko-Tex certified materials.
Zippers are manufactured by YKK (various locations).
Other metal trims are made by ESSN (China), and plastic trims by Woojin (China).
Webbings (straps) are produced by Yuongdong (China).
Trinco manufactures our labels and hangtags in China.
The cow hides used for Sandqvist’s full leather bags come from Scandinavian cattle. The hides are tanned at Scan-Hide in Denmark, a tannery gold-rated by the Leather Working Group (LWG) for its environmental performance. The wet blue hides are then shipped to S&H Leather (India), another gold-rated tannery, for re-tanning.
In addition, Sandqvist works with two other tanneries for leather details, both silver-rated by LWG: Progressive Leather Industries (India) and Shui Hua Leather (Taiwan).
The majority of our production takes place in Asia, while our products are sold globally. As a result, transportation represents a significant part of our environmental impact. To learn more about the carbon footprint of our transports, please see our sustainability report.
Sandqvist only works with freight forwarders that can disclose the carbon footprint of our shipments and are actively working to reduce the environmental impact of transportation.
Sandqvist currently works with Reachlog for transport from our suppliers, and with DHL, UPS, PostNord and Budbee for additional transportation services.