It’s the people
that make the fashion

Our responsibility is not limited to our products, it extends to the people who develop, produce, and sell them. That is why we are committed to respecting and protecting the human rights of our employees and suppliers. HUGO BOSS encourages people around the world to fully realise their own potential – with fair working conditions, better education, more equality in opportunities, and greater social diversity.

We would not be what we are without the around 22,000 colleagues who work with HUGO BOSS globally. That is why we are committed to their wellbeing through our fair and open corporate culture, respect for human rights, compliance with high working standards, and transparent remuneration policy. With training programs for managers, as well as additional training on feedback culture and agile work processes, we encourage our employees to, proactively, introduce ideas and take responsibility. This proactive approach is integral to our pursuit of an open and agile feedback culture, which nurtures continuous dialogue between managers and employees throughout the year.

As a member of the Diversity Charter, our recognition and appreciation of all our employees is a core principle, irrespective of nationality, gender, religious or political beliefs, sexual orientation, age, or any disability. A diverse workforce is also important to us. Additionally past experience has shown that heterogeneous and inclusive teams facilitate better solutions for complex issues and have a positive impact on corporate culture. That’s also why HUGO BOSS encourages employee diversity.

We also take operational health and safety very seriously: this is demonstrated by our internal Health & Safety Commitment. Healthcare events in Metzingen and Ticino, at the company’s sports fields and studios, keep our employees fit. We also consult our employees on topics such as nutrition or ergonomics in the workplace.

Respect for human rights applies to all our activities, with a particular focus on our international supply chain. Due to the complexity of our global supply chain, we have a worldwide responsibility to ensure fair working conditions and respect for human rights, both, for our suppliers, and for our own employees. We are aware that there could, sometimes, be a lack of legal guidelines along our value chain, and we consider it our responsibility to remedy this.

We have enshrined our standards in various guidelines such as the Code of Conduct and the Supplier Code of Conduct, so that working on our behalf is humane, safe and fair. In these documents, we prohibit child and forced labour, for example, as a prerequisite for collaboration with us, and we stipulate humane working conditions and appropriate wages. The right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is also embedded in the Supplier Code of Conduct. Equally important for our suppliers are our environmental protection requirements.

A multi-step selection process for new suppliers, and regular checks with existing suppliers, contribute to the fulfilment of our social responsibility. We use supplier self-assessments, carry out audits and rely on carefully selected external certifications. If violations of the Supplier Code of Conduct occur, we work with the supplier and develop plans to remedy the situation. If all else fails, we part ways with those suppliers, whose commitment does not match our standards. Should such cases occur, they are recorded on an annual basis in our Sustainability Report.