ANIMAL WELFARE AND TRACEABILITY

Down is one of the most important raw materials for Moncler. For this reason, all suppliers are not only required to meet the highest quality standards, but also to act responsibly and with full respect of animal welfare.
To ensure animal welfare, Moncler demands and verifies that its down suppliers comply with the strict requirements laid down in the Moncler technical DIST Protocol (Down Integrity System & Traceability), available on the page dist.moncler.com. The DIST protocol, first implemented in 2015, regulates farming standards, animal welfare, down traceability and technical quality. Moncler only purchases down that is DIST-certified.
Among the basic requirements that must be respected across the entire supply chain:

• down must be exclusively sourced from farmed white geese and as a by-product of the food chain

• no form of live-plucking or forced feeding is permitted.

The protocol, drafted taking into consideration the peculiarities of the Moncler’s supply chain, is the result of open and constructive dialogue within the scope of a multi-stakeholder forum set up in 2014, which considered the expectations of the various stakeholders to ensure a scientific and holistic approach to the topic of animal welfare and product traceability. The forum, chaired by a professor of Management at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice with specific knowledge and expertise in sustainability issues, consists of Moncler people, experts from the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Milan, the Polish National Institute of Animal Husbandry Koluda Wielka, Compassion in World Farming (a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the welfare of farm animals), representatives from certification and consulting companies (SGS, Control Union, IDFL and KPMG), and, starting in 2023, following the inclusion in the DIST protocol of the modules on human rights and environmental compliance, representatives of international organisations specialised in these issues. From the belief that dialogue is a source of improvement, Moncler organised the ninth multi-stakeholder forum in March 2023. At the forum, the new updates to the Protocol aimed at further developing the document were discussed, which also includes three specific modules on human rights, the environment and the DIST down recycling procedure.

The DIST Protocol assesses animal welfare from an innovative perspective. In addition to the traditional approach that focuses on the environment in which the animal lives (in terms of availability of food and water, adequate space for movement, etc.), the Protocol, in line with the European Commission guidelines, also assesses welfare by carefully observing the animal through the so-called Animal-Based Measures (ABMs)⁵. ABMs allow a direct assessment of an animal’s condition, by observing how geese respond to the different factors of the environment in which they live (outcome approach). The DIST Protocol features nine ABMs including, among others, those designed to identify unusual behaviours or aspects such as plumophagia⁶, dislocated or broken wings, feather irregularities, abnormal beak colour.
These situations can be associated with environments in which welfare of geese is compromised by various factors, including high animal density, inadequate diet, lack of pasture or inappropriate animal management.
Another important, innovative indicator introduced in the Protocol is the evaluation of the human-animal interaction through the response to a specific test (the HAR test, Estep and Hetts, 1992).
All down suppliers must strictly comply with the Protocol’s requirements to ensure raw material traceability, animal welfare and the highest quality at every link of the down supply chain. To verify compliance with the principles set out in the Protocol, Moncler constantly carries out strict field audits throughout its almost entirely vertically-integrated down supply chain. The down supply chain includes different types of entities: geese farms; slaughterhouses where animals are exclusively slaughtered for meat production and where down is subsequently collected; and companies responsible for washing, cleaning, sorting and processing the raw material. Façon manufacturers who realise the finished products downstream the down purchasing process also have to be taken into account.
To ensure the utmost impartiality of audits:

• audits are commissioned and paid directly by Moncler and not by the supplier

• the certification process is carried out by a qualified third-party entity, whose auditors are trained by veterinarians and zootechnicians of the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Milan

• the certification authority is in turn audited by another accredited external certification body.

In particular, in 2022 136 third-party onsite audits were carried out, verifying all entities in the supply chain. Where auditors found minor non-compliances, farms were required to take timely corrective action before obtaining certification. No cases of live-plucking of animals or forced-feeding were found during audits at any farm.
To transparently communicate the Company’s commitment in this area, a tag indicating “DIST-certified down” is included in all Moncler’s jackets. This important result was achieved by extending down traceability according to DIST Protocol across the entire supply chain, all the way through the finished product.
In order to promote constant improvement and therefore significantly impact animal welfare, Moncler is committed to involve and raise awareness throughout its supply chain, including through training activities. In this regard, in 2022 training on the traceability procedure continued for façon manufacturers of outerwear and knitwear, with four training courses totalling approximately 20 hours. In addition, several online training sessions were held in 2022 with the auditors of the third-party specialised firm that conducts on-site audits focusing on the requirements present in the new modules on human rights and environmental compliance.
The DIST Protocol is a stringent and innovative document and is intended to remain so. This is why it is constantly evolving and is subject to periodic review through the multi-stakeholder forum. However significant these results may be, Moncler has no intention to stop there. Rather, it is determined to continue to strive to promote increasingly ambitious standards, while welcoming the insights provided by stakeholders.
Stone Island is also committed to ensuring that the down used in its products is obtained in a manner respectful of animal welfare. The company purchases only duck down certified according to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) protocol. From 2023 all Brand’s suppliers must be compliant with the social and environmental requirements that will be verified through audits.
With regards to other materials of animal origin, the Moncler Group does not use rabbit, including angora rabbit, and any other material from species at risk of extinction included in the CITES categories. Furthermore, by 2025 the Group is committed to only use merino wool that is certified mulesing free.