Our corporate social responsibility strategy makes a difference in four areas:
Deane requires minimum workplace conditions, including the freedom to work, zero tolerance for modern slavery and child labour, fair wages and reasonable working conditions, from its offshore factory suppliers. These suppliers are independently audited for us by global Total Quality Assurance provider Intertek, using the international Workplace Conditions Assessment.
Ten years ago we started replacing individual garment bags with plastic box liners; now we’re on a mission to either eliminate plastic packaging altogether or replace it with recyclable and compostable materials.
We've removed 1,500,000 garment bags and pegs, collar stays, butterflies and other plastic components annually from our packaging. We've also found ways to give Deane clothes a second life, in part through our partnership with textile reuse company The Formary. We offer bespoke customers take-back options, including the re-export of non-branded clothing to developing nations, the recycling of other garments into yarn and the conversion of used clothing into interior components for automobiles.
We're going green in our work spaces, too. We've retrofitted our warehouse with high-transparency roofing materials to reduce the need for artificial lighting. Our offices all have recycling facilities and have moved to low-energy LED lighting.
Our goal is "sensible sustainability"- affordable, high-performance fabrics that meet the growing interest in sustainable uniforms and workwear. Deane first offered customers a sustainable fabric in 2018. We've made ground since then; natural or recycled fibres make up 50% of our fabrics and we now offer 13 eco-fabrics for wear trials and volume production, plus a range of sustainable trims. Our sustainable fabrics include 100% organic cotton, and natural and recycled blends for shirting, local wool blended with recycled polyester for suiting, recycled content fabrics in different weave types for tops and knit fabric from coffee grounds for polos.
For more than 30 years Deane has donated garments and fabrics to charities and schools. These days we donate to The Salvation Army, Dress For Success, and the Auckland City Mission. We provide design expertise and sourcing advice to sustainable menstrual products social enterprise Reemi for sustainable menstrual products and are financial backers of Ronald McDonald House Charities in Australia. In addition, our volunteer programme gives all Deane Apparel staff the opportunity to volunteer every year to a selected charity.
New Zealand’s largest co-operative concentrates on their business and leaves us to ensure their uniforms perform through rigorous industrial laundering
Aviation Security Services wear their brand to tell their story and we brought this to life in their uniform design
Speed and turnkey delivery from Design concepts to completed delivery on time drives our relationship with Compass
From north to south of New Zealand and all the 500 sites in between we deliver consistent quality on time as needed
Cleanaway required a seamless transition to a supplier who could manage a direct link to their purchasing software
Oceania always put their customers first and expect the same from the company that is their uniform supplier