"Pioneering for a sustainable
At Solo, ethics have always been central to our activities. We maintain responsible and fair relationships, both with our colleagues and with our industrial partners and service providers. Our commitment to our customers is to create timeless products that are made to last, designed with care and manufactured in a way that respects the environment as well as the people who make them. As a leading player in our sector, we take the responsibility to drive the transformation of our industry. Every year, we make progress, but there is still a long way to go!
Act4u is our action plan, bringing together our commitments to a sustainable and ethical future. It maps out our path: where we start from, where we go and how we will get there. The 'U' stand for "Universe", "Union" or can also mean "you". All these references mean that our group takes measures to protect and preserve the environment, promote equality, respect and safety for all stakeholders in our business and the community at large.
Act4u is based on four pillars:
U are the PLANET
In 2024, Solo made a “well-below 2°C” commitment to the SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative). Our goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all our activities in line with the Paris Agreement
U are the PROMOTER
we rely on audits and certifications in order to bring transparency to our actions. At Solo, we believe that we are much stronger together. This is why we are involved in several international associations, which bring together the major players in the industry.
U are the PEOPLE
Solo promotes respectful and safe working conditions, both in our facilities and in those of our partners in Asia. We aim to improve the living conditions of cotton growers and promote well-being at work, training and inclusion.
U are the CHANGE
Solo puts its commitments into practice internally and with all its partners. As a leader, we must show that it is possible to change things in a meaningful and sincere way. Together, we can ensure a sustainable future!
With Act4u, Solo is more than ever at your side to offer you quality products in line with your values and your own commitments to sustainable development. Are you following us?
Commitments throughout the whole value chain
Our commitments regarding raw materials
GOTS
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is an independent label, widely recognised by retailers. It guarantees that a garment qualifies as ‘organic’, and applies from the harvesting of raw materials through to manufacturing, labelling and processing. All stages in the manufacture of the garment must be ecologically and socially responsible. A GOTS product is one that contains at least 70% organic fibres and no harmful substances. Its manufacture must be environmentally friendly from start to finish (including processing). Socially, it is a product that is manufactured in compliance with the conventions of the International Labour Organisation. GOTS-certified factories and suppliers are regularly audited by independent bodies. As GOTS certification applies to every stage in the production chain, right through to marking, JOY THAI is able to offer GOTS-certified products to customers who so wish.
OCS Blended
The OCS BLENDED standard applies to all non-food products containing a minimum of 5% organic cotton. It applies to clothing made from a blend of organic cotton and other materials. The new sweatshirts offered by SOL'S in 2021 qualify for this label, as they are made from 80% organic cotton and 20% recycled polyester. They do not therefore qualify for the OCS 100 label, as they are not made exclusively from cotton. However, we have decided that 100% of the cotton in these garments should be organic.
ORGANIC 100
The OCS 100 standard applies to products containing between 95 and 100% organic material. OCS 100 covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labelling, marketing and distribution of all products containing at least 95% certified organic materials. For Solo Paris, this certification has been awarded to all new 2021 products from each of the group's brands containing 100% cotton, as well as to the entire RTP APPAREL collection. Our ambition is to gradually replace regularly produced cotton with organic cotton in all our collections. This is already the case in the SOL'S baby range and we're going to continue!
COTTON USA
In 2023, we wanted to make our offer even more transparent, so that everyone can have access to all the information about the garment they are wearing. So we're starting a programme with AWARE. Thanks to an innovative tracer process incorporated into the fibre, we can access all the information about the origin and manufacture of the garment. The principle is to create a digital passport completed at each stage of manufacture. It contains all the information needed to keep users fully informed. It can be accessed using a unique QRCode. For more information: www.wearaware.co
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the world's largest animal rights organisation, with over 6.5 million members and supporters. The ‘PETA-Approved Vegan’ label shows that certified products contain no animal materials and that no animals were exploited or mistreated during their design and manufacture.
Better cotton
Better Cotton's mission is to help cotton-growing communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Through its implementing partners, Better Cotton trains farmers to use water efficiently, care for soils and natural habitats, reduce the use of the most harmful chemicals and respect the rights and welfare of workers. By choosing our cotton products, you support our commitment to the Better Cotton mission.
Our commitments concerning the production chain
FAIR WEAR
Social responsibility is not an option nor a favour granted to garment workers, this is why Solo Paris has been a member of THE FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION since 2014. The Fair Wear Foundation is an independent multi-stakeholder organisation that works with 140 garment brands, NGOs, trade unions representing garment workers and governments. It aims at seeing a world where the garment industry supports workers in realising their rights to safe, dignified, properly paid employment. To do this, the FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION has developed a code of conduct based on 8 labour standards that all partners undertake to comply with: To ensure factories comply with this code of conduct, local audit teams assess them through on-site and off-site interviews with workers, document inspections and health and safety inspections. They then share their findings and recommendations for improvement with the brand and factory management. The brand and factory management create a concrete action plan with a clear implementation schedule to address all issues raised. Several audits are then carried out to ensure that this implementation is effective and that all code of conduct standards are fully complied with.
ACCORD
Solo Paris joined ACCORD in June 2020. This is an independent agreement between brands and textile factories in Bangladesh. It aims at guaranteeing workers that the factories they work in meet strict safety requirements and, more generally, at building a safe and healthy clothing and textile industry in Bangladesh. To date, this agreement has been signed by 190 brands and 1,800 factories in Bangladesh, representing 2 million workers. By signing this agreement, brands commit themselves as they are responsible in case of accident. This is why ACCORD participates in financing safety remediation works of factories who signed the agreement, carries out many inspections (more than 3,800 since 2013) and organises safety training courses within these factories. By signing this agreement, Solo Paris undertakes to ensure all its partners comply with safety requirements within their companies. By committing itself alongside 190 other signatory brands, Solo Paris helps to improve labour conditions in the Bangladeshi textile industry.
Amfori
In the global marketplace, supply chains are becoming increasingly complex. It is more necessary than ever for companies to improve their production visibility and make improvements to their entire supply chains. Solo Paris is a member of amfori, the leading international business association that supports open and sustainable trade. We are improving the social performance of our supply chain through amfori BSCI. For more information, please visit www.amfori.org
OEKO TEX
OEKO TEX® STANDARD 100 certification guarantees that garments bearing this label do not contain any harmful substances and are therefore safe for the health of their wearers. This guarantee applies not only to the main material(s) of which the garment is made, but also to all its accessories: buttons, cords, threads, zips, linings, etc.
Cascale
Cascale (formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition - SAC) brings together 300 members from across the value chain (brands, production plants, trade unions, NGOs, etc.) operating in the textile and consumer goods sectors. Founded in 2009 under the joint impetus of Walmart and Patagonia, it aims to catalyse collective action with 3 objectives: to combat global warming, to guarantee decent work for all and to ensure a future that respects nature. With this in mind, Cascale has developed the Higg Index, a series of tools to measure the environmental and social impacts of brands and manufacturers, as well as the environmental impact of products. At Solo Paris we believe that by joining forces in a coalition, we can tackle urgent and systemic challenges that are impossible to tackle alone, which is why we were the only French player in the promotional textile sector to join Cascale back in 2015, an active contributor to bringing about positive change in practices.
AWARE
In 2023, we wanted to make our offer even more transparent, so that everyone can have access to all the information about the garment they are wearing. So we're starting a programme with AWARE. Thanks to an innovative tracer process incorporated into the fibre, we can access all the information about the origin and manufacture of the garment. The principle is to create a digital passport completed at each stage of manufacture. It contains all the information needed to keep users fully informed. It can be accessed using a unique QRCode. For more information: www.wearaware.co
Our other commitments
NUK
Established in 1991, NUK is a national non-governmental organisation whose mission is to foster gender equality, human rights, personal and political empowerment of women and girls in Bangladesh. Today, NUK focuses on consolidating and structuring several programmes and institutions that now have the capacity to work as independent organisations.One of the projects funded by Solo Paris is the Agaroshindur Sufia Aftab Eye hospital, whose mission is to provide the poorest communities in the Kishoregani district with medical care such as dental care, eye care, prenatal and postnatal care, vaccination, hearing care, etc. Another project in which Solo Paris is involved through its support to NUK is the Kishoreganj Eye Hospital (KEH), whose main mission is to treat the poorest populations in the district from cataract and total blindness it causes, which leads to even greater poverty. Since its inception in 2006, the hospital has provided eye care services to nearly 65,000 patients.
Sreepur Village
The "Sreepur Village, Bangladesh" is a charity that runs and funds a women's and children’s village in rural Bangladesh since 1981. The Sreepur Village works with mothers (without male support) and their children to increase their chances of remaining a family, by adopting a holistic, residential approach including livelihood and literacy training. The core belief being that poverty should not separate children from their family. The Sreepur Village infuses hope into mothers and children through providing them with the necessary skills and tools for “a better life”. The project provides a huge range of services including safety, shelter, food and nutrition, adult literacy and education, comprehensive health care, livelihood and life skill training, child safeguarding and protection, and social reintegration. The Sreepur Village in numbers in 2019: 154 mothers benefited from the literacy programme 160 mothers and 350 children were provided with a home 212 children were sent to school 5 abandoned children were placed in foster families
Mécénat chirurgie cardiaque
Since 1996, the mission of Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque Enfants du Monde (Cardiac Surgery Sponsorship Scheme) has been to operate in the best possible conditions on children with heart defects living in disadvantaged countries. As soon as they arrive in France, these children are hosted by voluntary foster families who take care of them before the operation and throughout their convalescence, until they return to their country where they will undergo lifelong monitoring. Today nine hospitals operate on children throughout France and 3,500 children have been operated on since 1996. Solo Paris, through its SOL'S brand, has been a technical partner of Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque Enfants du Monde for several years, providing the association's teams with complete outfits for their events.
Le HAC
Since 2019, SOL’S has been the official sponsor of Le Havre Football Club. By choosing to sponsor this club through its SOL'S brand, Solo Paris does not limit itself to a simple promotional campaign. Sponsoring a football club means sharing and spreading sporting values, participating in the recruitment and training of young players, and contributing to the local economy. Finally, it means being associated with great moments of sharing and conviviality that animate football fans, the club's supporters and all the people of Le Havre, to whom we are particularly attached as our warehouse has been based in Le Havre since day one, i.e. 30 years ago! At the same time, Solo Paris has been involved in the Graines de Footballeuses association since 2020, which aims to develop, organise and promote women's football, particularly among young players. By supporting this association, we help to promote the values of football and, more generally, those of sport, and we work to ensure that women have the place they are entitled to in a world that is still too male-dominated.
National Debate Bangladesh
The National Debate Federation Bangladesh (NDF BD) is one of the largest debate associations in Bangladesh. It aims at allowing students who will be the future leaders of the country to create social awareness through the practice of debate. Through practising debate people can achieve the capability of tolerating other words, opinions and conflicts, and learn to freely express their own opinion in a logical and tolerant way. To achieve this goal and allow as many students as possible to access this practice, the NDF BD organises national debate festivals, medical debate festivals, debate competitions, debate workshops, quiz competitions and leadership skills development workshops throughout the country, as often as possible.
Institut pasteur
Diseases have no borders and wreak havoc all over the world, including within our teams. This is why Solo Paris provides financial support to various research organisations such as the INSTITUT PASTEUR and the GUSTAVE ROUSSY FOUNDATION, in the hope of curing cancer before the end of the century, or the IMAGINE FOUNDATION, which focuses its research on genetic diseases.
Solo Paris
At Solo Paris, we know that people are our greatest strength. Women and men who make up our team are all driven by common values, a common ambition and a mindset oriented towards agility, the pleasure of a job well done, sharing and interpersonal skills. Convinced that differences strengthen us, the team is made up of women and men with very different profiles, both in their professional backgrounds and in their private dimension. Behind every product and every Solo Paris’s brand, there are women, men, young and old people, cultures and traditions from all over the world, all kinds of families and beliefs. There is no room for discrimination in the group. Quite the contrary! Multiculturalism is part of our DNA and of the richness of our company, we are proud of it and this will not change! By the way, company agreements emphasise the prohibition of any kind of discrimination on any basis whatsoever (recruitment, career development, remuneration, access to training, etc.). For Solo Paris, each employee represents a link in the chain, which means that if a link is missing, the chain gets broken. This is why Solo Paris is one of the few companies in France that implemented an equal profit-sharing among employees: whatever the position or the wage, they all receive the same amount. The Solo Paris's staff consists of 200 people in France, Europe, our subsidiaries and Asia. At our head office, the average age of our employees is 39.9 years, the average length of service is 6.5 years and more than 60% of our staff are women. GENDER EQUALITY INDEX: With a strong belief that diversity and inclusion are powerful levers for success within companies, Solo Paris has always strived to promote equal opportunities and fight against all kinds of inequalities. Today, the result of the Gender Equality Index reflects our commitment, as we have achieved a score of 92/100. This index is based on the following 4 indicators measured over a rolling 12-month period: Wage gap between men and women, Gap in wage growth, including promotion, Percentage of women receiving a pay rise in the year following maternity leave, Number of employees of the underrepresented gender among the top 10 earners. Solo Paris has always believed that its strength lies in its employees and their diversity. From the outset, the management has been aware of openness to both men and women as a source of collective success and individual well-being. Today, Solo Paris is proud of this result, but also and above all of the diversity within its teams. We will continue to promote equal opportunities within our teams, as we have always done.'égalité des chances au sein de nos équipes.