The purchase process in a group that produces widely-consumed products and which wants to keep costs low for the end consumer involves various obstacles:

• We must find raw materials and products that satisfy consumer demands and tastes;
• These materials and products need to not only be beautiful, but safe for the wearer;
• They need to have reasonable, sustainable costs for our business model;
• Lastly, they need to be manufactured under civil, sustainable conditions.

The way down this path is not always easy, as a series of incidents which have impacted other important groups has demonstrated, and it is important to fully verify the production chain.

It isn’t always feasible to be absolutely sure that things are done in the best way possible, which is why we need everyone's commitment so that, in-line with their business model, the key players in the market and the production and distribution chain can head down a path of continuous gradual improvement.

We have started this journey and intend to pursue it decisively and transparently. This is how we, to date, handle our purchases and the improvements we intend to make.

Additional initiatives to continue to evolve

In addition to the commitments stated in the "Production Facilities" section, the Group has also set some important objectives regarding suppliers and the use of materials:

• All suppliers are obliged to accept our Supplier Code of Conduct as a condition for being able to work with us;
• We are currently in the process of identifying the best possible ways by which to share our whistleblowing channels with those working for our third party suppliers;
• Reduce the use of non-recyclable materials and all packaging that is not strictly necessary;
• Drastically reduce the use of animal-origin materials, for example fur, even where obtained from certified farms;
• Constantly add to the list of harmful or potentially harmful substances not to be used in our items;
• Constantly pursue research into environmentally-sustainable and environmentally-friendly solutions;
• We are working to identify the very best analysis method to understand just what percentage of workers of our suppliers earn a salary that is above what is termed a “living wage”. A living wage is higher than the minimum wage and entails a complex level of calculation, as it requires the identification of objective, stable parameters in the places where our suppliers work. At present, in fact, we are unable to define a percentage (and this should therefore be considered as 0%).

We intend to report periodically to our stakeholders on the progress made in various industries.