Human rights are universal and indivisible. We are committed to recognising and respecting human rights as formulated by the United Nations. We regard it as our duty and obligation to fully uphold and protect human rights at all times. We expect the same from our partners.

The Otto Group’s Declaration of Principles also applies unreservedly to bonprix. When it comes to human rights, we are led by the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) as well as by national action plans on business and human rights in Germany (NAP).

Risk analysis. The Otto Group’s human rights risk analysis is our starting point. We adapt it in line with our own business model and procurement structures, both as a company and as the bonprix brand.

In 2020, we combined our in-depth experience and risk analyses of individual sustainability criteria with Otto Group insights to create our very first human rights risk analysis. At bonprix, we analyse human rights risks at three levels: the supply chain, our company and our customers. Each of these three areas is included in observations.

The most serious and consequentially highest-priority risks are found within the supply chain. Pressing issues demanding immediate attention include child and forced labour, discrimination, gender inequality, wages, working hours, environmental impact, and health and safety. Our own operations focus on infection prevention, mental health, discrimination and work safety for our employees. Privacy and data protection are critical issues affecting our customers.

Mandatory guidelines and specifications, action in the supply chain, social and environmental gains and our commitment to multi-stakeholder initiatives to identify industry-wide solutions are all effective tools to combat these risks.

Complaints procedure. Despite all preventative measures, human rights can still be violated. We can only act when we know about any such infringements. Employees, supply chain workers, customers and members of the public can all report incidents using the Otto Group’s whistleblower and complaints portal. Every report we receive is examined in detail. Complaints made to amfori or ACCORD about factories we use for manufacturing trigger a formalised process to ensure the Otto Group is informed and included in the resolution process. 

Supplier base overlaps and fast, comprehensive access to resources (if remediation is required) make a Group-wide complaints procedure especially valuable. We report on the number of complaints and corrective measures at Group level in the Otto Group’s annual report.