#BeKind to Our Workers - The Importance of Ethical Sourcing
Promoting safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing in Medline's Exam Gloves supply chain
In response to the rising global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), the importance of ethical and responsible PPE production has increased significantly. Medline is intently focused on being kind to our workers, treating them with respect and kindness. Consequently, we are committed to promoting ethical sourcing throughout our supply chain.
Medline implements these measures through our Ethical Sourcing Programme, which employs a risk-based approach, allowing us to identify, address, and remediate labour and human rights risks. Our goal is to safeguard the well-being of every worker behind the Medline brand.¹
Our approach to ethical sourcing
The Medline Supplier Code of Conduct lays out the foundational principles of our Ethical Sourcing Programme. This code is built upon fundamental principles, derived from respected international standards, including the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and other widely accepted best practices.
Medline’s Supplier Code of Conduct outlines the key labour and human rights standards that we require our manufacturing partners to uphold. These standards cover workers’ health and safety, environmental protection, the prohibition of forced labour and child labour, and the promotion of ethical business practices.² Importantly, the Supplier Code of Conduct explicitly prohibits forced, bonded, trafficked, prison, or slave labour. We require all partners in our supply chain to not only acknowledge, but also adhere to the principles outlined in our code of conduct, throughout our business relationship, by signing the Supplier Code of Conduct.
Medline's commitment to ethical practices is highlighted in our Modern Slavery and Transparency Statement.
As a testament to our commitment to the well-being of workers within our supply chain, Medline has partnered with the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP). This partnership involves independent, third-party certification of our gloves manufacturers. It ensures that PPE, particularly those involving high-risk raw materials, are produced ethically and responsibly.³
What is WRAP?
WRAP is an internationally recognised social compliance standard that operates based on the 12 WRAP Principles. These principles are designed to align with local laws, the declarations and standards of the ILO, and other relevant frameworks and standards. Together, these principles aim to promote safe, lawful, humane, and ethical working environments.
Here is an overview of the 12 WRAP Principles:⁴
Why Medline chose WRAP
Medline’s choice of WRAP as a partner is based on several factors, including WRAP’s independence, global presence, and well-established credibility. The WRAP certification is widely recognised as a symbol of high social and ethical standards.
This certification is due to the rigorous process involved in obtaining it. To become WRAP-certified, a facility must have undergone an intensive social compliance audit from an accredited independent audit firm that verifies compliance with all of the 12 WRAP Principles.⁵ Once the facility is deemed to be fully compliant, a certificate is issued for one year.
Maintaining the WRAP certification requires ongoing compliance and annual renewal, upholding high standards over time.
#BeKind to our workers in gloves sourcing
Aligning with WRAP ensures sustainable and ethical practices throughout our glove-sourcing processes, for example. Our commitment to ethical standards is reinforced by supplier certifications, and Medline exclusively sources from suppliers with WRAP certification.
All Medline facilities that manufacture our exam gloves, for example, have successfully undergone WRAP audits and have also achieved WRAP certification.
For more information on our exam gloves portfolio, please refer to our online catalogue and Exam Gloves Ordering Guide.
References
¹ Ethical Sourcing | Medline UK (2023) Medline. Available at: https://www.medline.eu/ethical-sourcing (Accessed: 07 August 2023).
² Medline Code of Conduct (2023) Medline. Available at: https://www.medline.eu/code-of-conduct (Accessed: 07 August 2023).
³ Wrap Certification (2021) Medline WRAP Brochure 2021. Available at: https://assets.medline.eu/Documents/Medline_WRAP_brochure_2021.pdf (Accessed: 07 August 2023).
⁴ 12 principles (2023) WRAP Compliance. Available at: https://wrapcompliance.org/en/about/what-we-do/12-principles/ (Accessed: 01 August 2023).
⁵ Certification explained (2023) WRAP Compliance. Available at: https://wrapcompliance.org/en/certification/certification-explained/ (Accessed: 07 August 2023).