141 BE FAIR140 BE FAIR MONCLER GROUP 2022
tive 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 sup- ply chain, all the way through the finished product.
In order to promote constant improvement and therefore significantly impact animal welfare, Moncler is committed to in- volve 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 outer- wear and knitwear, with four training courses totalling approximate- ly 20 hours. In addition, several online training sessions were held in 2022 with the auditors of the third-party specialised firm that con- ducts 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 fo- rum. However significant these results may be, Moncler has no in- tention to stop there. Rather, it is determined to continue to strive to promote increasingly ambitious standards, while welcoming the in- sights 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 accord- ing to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) protocol. From 2023 all Brand s suppliers must be compliant with the social and environ- mental 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 oth- er 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.
MONCLER WILL STOP USING FUR
Moncler announced in January 2022 that it will phase out the use of fur in all its collections, adhering to the Fur-Free Retailer Policy. In 2022 the Company stopped buying fur from animals farmed or captured in the wild exclusively for this purpose. The last collection to feature fur will be Fall/Winter 2023.
This decision is consistent with Moncler s ongoing commitment to re- sponsible business practices and builds on the Brand s constructive and long-term engagement with the Italian animal rights organisation LAV as a rep- resentative of the Fur Free Alliance.
Stone Island, that has not used fur since 2018, has pledged not to use it also in the future.
TRACEABILITY OF KEY RAW MATERIALS The Moncler Group is aware of the growing importance of issues relating to the traceability of products and production processes issues that are becoming key determinants in business strategies, with a view to both sustainability and operational choices linked to the visibility and monitoring of the supply chain. These issues are also becoming increasingly important to clients.
From this awareness, the Group s committed to trace its key raw materials, i.e. nylon, polyester, cotton and wool, by 2023, in addition to down, traced since 2015. A working group was thus launched, mainly involving collaboration between the Operation & Supply Chain, IT and Sustainability teams, to reconstruct the origin of strategic raw materials.
The project involved an initial phase of analysis and selection of the IT systems and tools necessary to collect and trace the da- ta and information of the various supply chains. Then, a subsequent phase was launched, to define the process methods for tracing strategic raw materials and the required level of information detail according to their nature. The result of this phase led to the identifi- cation of an approach diversified according to the type of raw ma- terial, taking into account the technical and production peculiarities and the complexity of each supply chain.
In particular, raw materials of natural or animal origin are traced starting from the cultivation or breeding stages, while those of syn- thetic origin are traced starting from the spinning phase. The goal is
to trace at least 80% in volumes of yarns and fabrics for nylon, polyes- ter, cotton and wool in addition to the 100%, already traced, for down.
Depending on the types of materials and the maturity of tech- nical solutions on the market, activities and projects to verify the reconstructed information were then examined, also through labo- ratory tests and certificates.
Transparent and constant dialogue is at the base of any relation- ship built on trust. It is a key element to foster shared growth, fruit- ful collaboration and mutual satisfaction.
The Group is attentive to dialogue with its suppliers and to share best practices both on technical aspects related to business activ- ities and on aspects aimed at promoting responsible behaviour. Di- alogue is established through various channels, ranging from daily meetings to institutional events.
Interactions with technicians and inspectors from Moncler and Stone Island to oversee various production activities take place daily. Meetings with company experts aim to provide specialised support at all stages of production processes to transfer techni- cal knowledge and resolve any critical issues. The technical team for outerwear garments has been reinforced over the years to en- sure a more extensive presence at façon manufacturers in Italy and abroad, increasing the already numerous checks on quality and progress of work across the line of production. Periodically, Group technicians attend company meetings in order to analyse the sam- ple collection, share industrialization standards, results achieved in the previous season, and goals for the upcoming one.
To offer an additional tool for dialogue and to facilitate the exchange of information and documentation, a web portal entire- ly dedicated to suppliers has been active since 2017. Through the portal, the supplier can directly access communications and doc- uments, including the Code of Ethics, Supplier Code of Conduct and related guidelines. In particular, a training course on the Code of Ethics was added to the portal in 2022. The training course in- cludes an ad hoc section on human rights principles and must be completed by all suppliers who register on the portal. Given the im- portance of the issue, the Group has launched an important col- laboration with the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITCILO) to develop ad hoc training and infor- mation courses on human rights issues for both suppliers and em- ployees of Moncler and Stone Island. The course, whose contents were defined in 2022, will be launched in early 2023.
During 2022, awareness-raising activities on ethical, social and environmental issues continued with some suppliers and sub- contractors (both façon manufacturers and raw materials suppli- ers), and the Company guidelines on compliance and sustainability continued to be spread by sharing technical, chemical and perfor- mance specifications, both during daily activity and through ad hoc video conferences.
Through an increasingly multichannel vision, the Group ensures clients a personalised, seamless and consistent brand experience across all channels.
The Moncler Group attributes a central role to the client. Every con- tact moment is an opportunity to welcome and get to know clients, but also share, engage, surprise and get feedback. Every project and initiative aim to improve the client shopping experience by involving them more and more into the Moncler and Stone Island world.
Over the last few years Moncler has developed the import- ant Retail Excellence project, which has been pivotal for the de- velopment of a strong Direct-to-Customer (DTC) culture, and that involved different areas, from the redesign of the client experience to the organisation of stores and of sales personnel, to the redefini- tion of working processes and methods. The aim is to get to know and engage clients, increasing their loyalty and developing an in- creasingly omnichannel approach. The project, renamed Omni- channel Excellence, was launched in 2021 for Stone Island with a first test and expanded globally in 2022.
Digitalisation of stores has played an important role in the project since its inception, helping to turn stores into places for
DIALOGUE TO GROW TOGETHER
CLIENT EXPERIENCE 2.0