Modern Slavery Statement
Year ending 18th February 2024
This statement has been published in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act (2015). It details the steps Hobbycraft has taken to prevent, identify and respond to risks of modern slavery within our business and supply chains during the financial year ending 18th February 2024.
Modern slavery is a broad term used to encompass the offences of slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines forced labour as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”
The UK Modern Slavery Act was passed into law in March 2015. The law requires companies operating in the United Kingdom to publicly disclose the steps taken to ensure modern slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in any of their supply chains or in any part of their business
Hobbycraft Group of Companies
Founded in 1995, we are the largest arts and crafts retailer in the UK with 119 stores nationwide (as at 18th February 2024).
As well as selling through UK stores, we sell online to UK and international customers.
The Hobbycraft group of companies comprises:
| Company Name | Company Number |
|---|---|
| Hobbycraft Group Limited | 07216034 |
| Stitch 2 Limited | 07216740 |
| Stitch 3 Limited | 07217283 |
| Stitch Bidco Limited | 07068903 |
| Hobbycraft Trading Limited | 00806269 |
| Hobbycraft Superstores Limited | 03289788 |
Hobbycraft Group Limited is the group’s parent company and the only trading company is Hobbycraft Trading Limited.
Our Commitment
As the UK’s leading arts and crafts retailer, sourcing goods from around the world, we manage complex and unique supply chains in 17 countries (as at 18th February 2024).
As a business, Hobbycraft is committed to addressing the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking, with a zero-tolerance approach within our business and supply chain. We will continue to review our policies and processes throughout the next financial year and make updates where required.
Having joined Sedex as a buyer member, Hobbycraft utilises one of the world’s leading online platforms for companies to manage and improve working conditions in global supply chains. Through the Sedex platform, we can ensure that all suppliers receive regular audits which are conducted independently in compliance with internationally recognised standards.
The Hobbycraft commercial, supply chain and support teams will continue to visit our primary suppliers and factories, where possible, to further our working relationships and involvement within our supply base. We will continue to prioritise visits to factories based in higher risk areas and remain committed to increasing the transparency within our supply chain year on year.
Where we are unable to visit countries impacted by travel restrictions, Hobbycraft will engage a local and independent third-party technical support service provider to conduct these visits on our behalf.
Our Values and Policies
At Hobbycraft, our core values and policies are well communicated and understood by all, with a clear reporting and accountability structure. Click here for our Sustainability Report, which provides detailed information on our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy.
The human rights of all people working directly or indirectly for Hobbycraft are a matter of the utmost importance to us. Any human rights abuses have no place in our business or in society. We are committed to ensuring that Hobbycraft has a robust approach to addressing modern slavery and human rights abuses within our supply chains.
Hobbycraft colleagues are guided by key policies, including those relating to Anti-Bribery & Corruption, Whistleblowing, Pay & Contracts, and Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIBS). Monitoring adherence to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is the responsibility of our Chief Financial Officer, a member of the main Board.
Our Product Supply Chain
Hobbycraft sources products from over 100 international trusted partnerships, operating across 17 countries. Imports make up c. 32% of total stock purchases with the remainder of our goods sourced from UK suppliers. 81% of our imported goods originate from China, with a smaller proportion from Taiwan, Turkey, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Hobbycraft has internal practices to address human trafficking and modern slavery within our supply chain. Along with our agents based within the local area, we make it a priority to spend time in our partner factories, conducting product checks as well as factory audits that cover “forced, bonded, indentured, slave and prison labour” which are expressly prohibited.
All our vendors undergo an ESG audit every two years, according to the best practice methodologies governed by Sedex. Membership of Sedex and compliance with our audit requirements are non-negotiable conditions of supplying products to Hobbycraft.
We endeavour to communicate any significant audit learnings to our suppliers if we consider that they may be of benefit in driving best practiceRisk Assessment, Due Diligence & Measurement of Effectiveness
At Hobbycraft, we understand the importance of a robust due diligence approach in helping to identify, mitigate and minimise the risk of modern slavery. Given the global nature of our sourcing business, it is important that we are vigilant over modern slavery.
Our corporate social responsibilities are considered a key risk on our risk register, which is reviewed by the management team on a quarterly basis and approved by the Board. We assess suppliers via on-site audits or desktop reviews of audit reports to evaluate their compliance against our standards to prevent and address human trafficking and modern slavery in our supply chain. In addition, we conduct unannounced audits, which are performed by a qualified Sedex-approved third party as well as our own qualified teams at source.
Human trafficking is considered a zero-tolerance issue at Hobbycraft. If evidence of forced, bonded, indentured, slave and/or prison labour is found, Hobbycraft will terminate the business relationship and report the matter to the relevant authorities.
This statement has been approved and is fully supported by the Board of Directors.
10th August 2024