Made in Respect
Ethique
The VoltAIRe programme reflects the brand’s commitment to developing products and carrying out its activities in a way which respects men, women, animals and the environment. Whether its teams, partners, customers or community, the principle of Made in Respect guides Zadig’s action in all business lines. to input text into the page.
Joining the United Nations Global Compact
In order to formalise its commitment, in 2021, Zadig&Voltaire joined the United Nations Global Compact, making a commitment to support and promote, through its activities, the UN’s 10 principles regarding human rights, international labour standards, the environment and anti-bribery.
Zadig&Voltaire’s Code of Ethics
In 2021, Zadig&Voltaire drew up a Code of Ethics which was distributed to the brand’s teams. It is also given to and signed by each new employee joining the company. The latter defines the rules of conduct and principles that should guide the behaviour of all Zadig&Voltaire employees, its partners and the various stakeholders, when it comes to ethics and social, societal and environmental responsibility.
It is based around 4 main principles:
• Hiring employees and developing talents
• Being worthy of our customers’ trust
• Treating our partners with integrity and mobilising them alongside us
• Making a commitment and taking action to preserve the environment
Access the Zadig&Voltaire Code of Ethics (download the PDF)
Ethics Committee
The Ethics Committee has 5 members and 3 missions:
• Following/applying the Code of Ethics
• Responding to requests / Processing any alerts
• Developing policies and tools
Supplier Code of Conduct
A Supplier Code of Conduct is integrated into Zadig&Voltaire’s Terms and Conditions of Purchase. All of the brand’s suppliers sign these conditions and therefore undertake to respect, and ensure respect for, said conditions. The Code of Conduct defines in detail what the company expects from its partners in terms of ethics and in particular respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and protecting the environment.
Zadig&Voltaire hotline
A dedicated hotline has been set up allowing any behaviour or situation that is contrary to the Code of Ethics or in breach of the law to be reported in good faith and confidentially
Anti Modern Slavery Statement
Committed with our Teams
Making our employees the first VoltAIRe ambassadors
Three corporate values also fuel the collective commitment of Zadig&Voltaire’s Sustainable Development approach: socially-committed freedom, Encouraged uniqueness and Shared high standards.
Our approach is inclusive and aims to unite and engage all of Zadig&Voltaire’s communities around this shared project, starting with our teams.
This notably takes the form of giving our teams the opportunity to be fully involved in the transformation of the company and allowing them to be the 1st ambassadors of VoltAIRe.
Objective: 100% of current and new employees trained in the VoltAIRe programme
Training and providing information on the brand’s commitment and actions in the context of VoltAIRe
• Training sessions for all departments and store teams around the world
• Integration into the onboarding programme for all new employees
Being actors for change
Zadig&Voltaire organises regular training sessions dedicated to Product teams
100% of Accessory teams are trained in the challenges related to sourcing, processes and eco-design
• Regular progress updates are given to the various departments of the Parisian head office
• Organisation of interactive live sessions with stores
• Creation of specific expert training modules
Female empowerment at the heart of the Zadig&Voltaire brand
Zadig&Voltaire was founded with the goal of designing and proposing outfits that allow young girls and women to be confident. From the outset, brand founder Thierry Gillier chose to surround himself with women in key positions in the company. At the end of 2022, Zadig&Voltaire’s staff was 77% female. Its management committee is 70% female and 80% of management positions are filled by women. 78% of store managers are women. In 2021-2022, the company obtained a score of 99/100 in the gender equality index in France, a result that Zadig&Voltaire works hard to improve every day. The 99/100 score can be broken down as follows: 39/40 for the pay gap indicator, 20/20 for the difference in rate of pay rises indicator, 15/15 for the difference in promotions indicator, 15/15 for the return after maternity leave indicator and 10/10 for the top ten earners indicator. text into the page.
Committed with our Partners
Reminder: Objective 100% of our supplier partners aligned with Zadig&Voltaire standards
Zadig&Voltaire’s partners adhere to a set of rules, practices and principles in terms of ethics, societal responsibility and protecting the environment, which have been incorporated into Zadig&Voltaire’s standards
A Supplier Code of Conduct updated in 2021
It defines what is expected of partners regarding social responsibility, protecting the environment and business integrity.
A Supplier Code of Conduct is integrated into Zadig&Voltaire’s Terms and Conditions of Purchase. All of the brand’s suppliers sign these conditions and therefore undertake to respect, and ensure respect, for said conditions.
Zadig&Voltaire’s Initiative for Compliance & Sustainability (ICS)
Created in 1998, this organisation dedicated to social compliance strives to improve working conditions in companies’ international supply chains (mapping of suppliers, early detection of problems, corrective measures and training).
In the context of respect for its social compliance policy, Zadig&Voltaire also recognises other extremely rigorous methods such as BSCI and SMETA SEDEX. The brand’s objective is to have a social audit of 100% of its manufacturers by the end of 2023.
A Zadig&Voltaire Animal Welfare Charter
The Animal Welfare Charter is also incorporated into contractual documents signed by all of the brand’s suppliers. It is based on fundamental principles, particularly respect for the 5 Freedoms set out by the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1992 and included in the definition of animal welfare used by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). In order to commit to collective initiatives aimed at developing best practices across the channels with regard to animal welfare, the Zadig&Voltaire group has been a member of the GCS (Good Cashmere Standard) and LWG (Leather Working Group) since 2021.
Zadig&Voltaire Sustainable Materials and Products Standards
These Standards formalise the requirements in terms of traceability, sourcing of raw materials and use of chemicals, that the brand’s suppliers must meet by 2025. These standards are gradually being incorporated into contractual documents signed by the brand’s partners to demonstrate Zadig&Voltaire’s commitment and supply choices by prioritising organic materials, adopting eco-friendly manufacturing processes and certifications incorporating particularly demanding criteria regarding the use of chemicals.
Involving partners in our certification strategy for finished products
Aside from its objective to use 100% certified key raw materials by 2025, Zadig&Voltaire has embarked on a process seeking to certify its entire supply chain for the majority of products in its collections.
This process ensures that traceability details are reliable and that each manufacturing step meets requirements in keeping with Zadig&Voltaire standards. In this context, Zadig&Voltaire has been certified since 2021 in accordance with recognised and particularly rigorous standards.
This process raises awareness among the brand’s partners, encouraging and promoting certification in the supply chain.
In order to involve and support its partners, the Zadig&Voltaire teams organise dedicated discussions and webinars and produce informative documents providing operational assistance with this approach.
At the end of 2022, the certification of products through the entire supply chain concerned: • 90% of the Cashmere Knit collection
• 65% of the Jersey collection
• 30% of the Denim collection
In 2023, the brand is working to increase the number of products concerned by this process.
At the end of 2022, 40% of Zadig&Voltaire suppliers were certified by at least one of the standards recognised by the brand.
Committed with our Communities
Mirroring the role that brand founder Thierry Gillier has wanted to give to women since the start of his entrepreneurial adventure, the messages conveyed by Zadig&Voltaire looks and collections have always promoted empowerment.
This strong commitment, rooted in the brand’s identity also takes the form of support for actions designed to allow vulnerable people to take control of their lives.
Supporting empowerment through art:
Art is Hope Programme in the United States In the United States, Zadig&Voltaire developed Art is Hope to support the empowerment of creative minds. Through this programme launched in 2020, measures were taken in partnership with 5 organisations, namely: The LA Dance Project, Black Art in America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, QueerArt and Girls Rock Santa Barbara.
Supporting the empowerment of women who are the victims of violence
In France, Zadig&Voltaire supports the activities of the Fondation des Femmes, the reference structure in France working to promote women’s rights and combat the violence to which they can fall victim. Since April 2022, throughout its entire network of French stores, Zadig&Voltaire has proposed tote bags made from the brand’s archive fabrics, by companies in the Alliance network which groups together welfare-to-work and disability-friendly companies in the north of France. In order to support its actions, Zadig&Voltaire donates 100% of the proceeds from sales of these tote bags to the Fondation des Femmes. At the end of 2022, the initiative was extended to several European countries.
Supporting empowerment through reintegration in the workplace
In France, Zadig&Voltaire supports Cravate Solidaire, a network of non-profit associations which work to ensure equal opportunities. Its mission is to allow people in need to take their interviews in the best possible conditions, in particular by restoring their self-confidence.