SLN Tekstil Ve Moda San. Tic in for the long haul
By: Selin Gür, SLN Tekstil Ve Moda San. Tic AS
SLN TEKSTIL ve MODA SAN. TIC. A.Ş is a manufacturer located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 2006, SLN now has four facilities across Turkey. SLN became a signatory to the Social Labor Convergence Project (SLCP) in April 2017.
Being in the textile industry over 20 years and working with valued sportswear and lifestyle brands, our company and factories have been audited and assessed several times by different types of audit and assessment scopes from our customers. I believe that the learnings from these assessments and audits have helped to improve the overall conditions of our factories, as well as improved our corporate development in the realm of social responsibility.
However, it is important to also highlight the high volume of audits and assessments that SLN is requested and required to endure each year and the time commitment challenges these create for our company. Looking back at 2017 calendar year, throughout our four SLN facilities, we have undergone 12 different audits and assessments. And while mentioned above that the assessments and audits can help to highlight areas to improve, they individually require a huge amount of work, effort and money from SLN.
SLN & SLCP collaboration
Our first encounter with the SLCP was early 2017, when PUMA proposed for us to join the pilot. In February 2017, we participated in the Project’s first pilot by conducting our Joint Assessment with the SLCP tool. We provided lots of feedback on the tool, both positive and areas for improvement. We became very enthusiastic about the project objectives. In April 2017, SLN decided to join the SLCP– representing the first supplier from Turkey to support the Project. We really appreciate that manufacturers are at the table and help shape the converged assessment framework, unlike several earlier initiatives.
SLN was keen to participate in the second pilot, that kicked off in November 2017. The second pilot included both a Joint Assessment and Verification. Comparing the two pilots, we have experienced many improvements: it is much more user-friendly and clear, while still being quite comprehensive. We are positive that this can function as the one single assessment for our industry. We are happy to see that our feedback as a manufacturer has been factored into making improvements.
Since we joined as signatory, we have seen the Project maturing. As a manufacturer and supplier to several brands, we are encouraged by the number of Signatories who have joined on to support this Project. We encourage others to reach out to the secretariat to learn more and consider joining. We see the SLCP as a very promising Project for the industry; driving meaningful global change throughout the supply chains.
