Moncler Group | Annual Report 2024 Board of Directors’ Report 307 Moncler Group | Annual Report 2024 Board of Directors’ Report 306

Another important, innovative indicator introduced in the Protocol

is the evaluation of the human-animal interaction through the

response to a specif ic 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 f ield audits throughout

its almost entirely vertically integrated down supply chain. The

down supply chain includes dif ferent types of entities: farms;

slaughterhouses where animals are mainly 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 f inished

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 audit and certif ication process is carried out by a qualif ied

third-party entity, whose auditors are trained by veterinarians

and zootechnicians of the Department of Veterinary Medicine

at the University of Milan;

•the certif ication authority is in turn audited by another

accredited external certif ication body.

In particular, in 2024, 210 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 certif ication. 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-certif ied 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

to the f inished product

In order to promote constant improvement Moncler is

committed to involving and raising awareness within its supply

chain including through training activities In this regard

in 2024 training on the traceability procedure continued for

façon manufacturers of outerwear and knitwear In addition

several online training sessions were conducted in 2024 with the

a

uditors of the thirdparty specialised f irm that conducts

onsite audits focusing on the requirements present in the new

modules on human rights and environmental compliance

T

he 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 multistakeholder

forum. However signif icant 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. Since 2019, the Company has only used duck down certif ied

according to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) protocol.

The standard aims to ensure that the down used comes from farms

that protect animal welfare throughout the production chain

and full traceability of certif ied materials. In particular, since 2023,

all Stone Island products containing down are labeled with

the RDS logo and certif ication information according to the standard

g

uidelines. In addition, since 2023, all suppliers in the

RDS-certif ied down supply chain have been subject to third-party

audits to ensure compliance with the Group’s new human rights

and environment modules.

Down quality

Since the beginning of the Company’s history, down has been

the heart of all its jackets, gradually becoming the identity

of the Brand itself. Thanks to its long experience and constant

research and development, Moncler now has unique

expertise in terms of both its understanding of the raw material

and the garment manufacturing process. Moncler requires its

suppliers to comply with the highest quality standards, which over

the years have been, and continue to be, a key element

of product dif ferentiation. However, for the Company, “quality”

is more than that: the origin of the down used and respect

for animal welfare are also fundamental for Moncler and are taken

into account in the raw materials purchasing process

as much as quality.

In particular, the technical quality of Moncler down is

ensured by a complex process that ensures that only the best

white

goose down is used to make garments. Each batch

of down

is double-checked to verify it complies with 11 parameters,

relating to quality (as well as aspects of hygiene and health),

identif ied by the strictest international regulations and the

restrictive requirements established by the Company: f irst through

sophisticated analysis by an accredited independent body

and then through further tests carried out at Moncler’s internal

laboratory, where highly-specialised down technicians operate.

In

2024, more than 1,200 tests were carried out. Down cluste

r

content and f ill power are the main indicators of down quality.

M

oncler garments contain at least 90% white goose down cluster

and only 10% feathers/small feathers. This high percentage

o

f down cluster guarantees a high f ill power, i.e. the capacity

of the down to occupy volume: the higher the f ill power, the

greater the performance in terms of lightness, thermal capacity

and insulating properties. Moncler down has a minimum

f ill

power level of 710 (cubic inches per 30 grams of down) translating

into warm, soft and light garments, able to of fer unique comfort.