Avon uses third-party manufacturers to produce our products. The same universal standard of quality and safety applies to all of our beauty products regardless of where they are manufactured or marketed, ensuring consumers receive the same product quality, safety and efficacy.
Avon expects its factories, manufacturers, vendors or agents (“suppliers”) to act responsibly in all respects and to do their utmost to ensure that no abusive, exploitative or illegal conditions exist at their factories’ workplaces. We require suppliers to act in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
On January 1, 2012, California enacted a new law – the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 – requiring large manufacturers and retailers doing business in California to publicly disclose the actions they are undertaking to identify and eradicate forced labor and human trafficking in their supply chains. The law’s purpose is to provide consumers with critical information about the efforts that companies are undertaking to prevent and eradicate human trafficking and slavery in their product supply chains globally. Avon is committed to fair labor practices in our supply chain.
Avon conducts audits on “in scope” suppliers to measure their compliance with country specific legal requirements and our Code of Supplier Conduct, and identify areas for improvement. “In scope” suppliers generally include those that are producing Avon finished goods. Avon verifies these suppliers through third-party site visits to measure suppliers’ compliance with our Code of Supplier Conduct, which forbids the use of unlawful child labor and specifies that “suppliers will not use forced labor, including prison labor, bonded, indentured or labor that is otherwise compelled, and will not engage in or support trafficking in human beings.”
Auditing suppliers is a key element of managing our supply chain and working toward adherence to our standards outlined in the Code. The audit is a fact-finding process designed to help our suppliers identify areas within a factory’s operations that could be improved to ensure compliance with country specific legal requirements and the Code. Audits are semi-announced (with a one-week audit window) and are conducted through a third-party agency.
Avon also requires our suppliers to maintain records to substantiate that all materials it supplies are produced in compliance with the anti-slavery and human trafficking laws of the country or countries in which they operate. A complete list of required records is available in the Social Responsibility Guidebook for Suppliers. All suppliers are provided with Avon’s Social Responsibility Guidebook for Suppliers, which includes the Code of Supplier Conduct and information on our corporate responsibility program and related sourcing policies. The guidebook outlines suppliers’ responsibilities enabling them to assess their policies and practices and to make improvements as needed.
Avon maintains and enforces internal accountability procedures for employees and suppliers regarding company standards in slavery and human trafficking. Avon does not permit violations of the law or the Code of Conduct and will take immediate action to prevent violations.
We continue to progress along a journey to raise awareness and educate Avon Associates and suppliers about the Code of Supplier Conduct.