Modern Slavery Statement

Full PDF Statement can be read here

This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that the MIP Inc. Group of companies (“MIP”) has taken and will continue to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking does not take place within its business or supply chain.

Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. MIP has a zero- tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. As outlined below, MIP publishes a ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Statement’ (“CSR Statement”) which is approved at board level. MIP makes every effort to run its business in accordance with the CSR Statement. It emphasises MIP’s commitment to act ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings. It also clearly compels the business to ensure that its suppliers also meet ethical standards. MIP is continually evaluating its systems and controls to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or its supply chain. A copy of MIP’s CSR Statement is available here.

This Modern Slavery Statement outlines MIP’s approach to meeting the challenges of Modern Slavery head-on. This Policy is administered by the Company’s Human Resources Department, Supply Chain Department and its Chief Executive Officer. If you have any questions on this policy or its operation, please do not hesitate to let us know. Please contact us at the email address CSR@mipinc.com .


MIP’s business

MIP Inc is a Canadian company founded in 1977. In September 2013, MIP's ownership group expanded with an investment from Banyan Capital Partners. Today, MIP is owned by Senior Management in partnership with Banyan. In 2016, MIP acquired the UK based company Cromptons Healthcare Ltd, thus expanding MIP’s UK presence and product portfolio. MIP has therefore evolved into a global leader in the reusable healthcare textile industry, providing a broad range of products and services to the healthcare industry in more than 27 countries around the world including Canada, North America and many European countries including UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. MIP Customers include large and small laundries, distributors, hospitals and long-term care facilities. The Organisation has offices and some manufacturing operations in the following locations:

  • MIP Inc – Montreal, Canada (Head Office)
  • MIP Europe GMBH (MIPe) – Hamburg & Rossau, Germany (Office/Warehousing/Manufacturing)
  • Med-I-Pant UK Ltd. (MIP UK) – Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom (Office/Warehousing)
  • MIP USA (Sales team)
  • Italy (Agency)

MIP also sources and procures products and services from 3rd Party Suppliers on a global basis, predominantly China, Europe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia and North America/Canada. Further detail on MIP’s approach to dealing with suppliers ethically is set out below.


High Risk Areas

As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility process, MIP undertakes a Risk Assessment to highlight specific areas of risk related to each Country, Industry and Culture within which we operate. This global mapping process is conducted on a continual basis. Where our internal Risk Assessments indicate a potential high level of risk, MIP will consider commissioning independent 3rd Party Audits to ensure compliance to International, National, and local Rules of Law


MIP Policies

MIP operate various internal policies to ensure that MIP is conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:

  1. Code of Business Conduct. This code explains the standards of behaviour MIP expects as an organisation and how MIP expects its employees and suppliers to act. This includes (but is not limited to) anti-harassment, bullying, equal opportunities and mutual respect. We currently share this Code of Conduct with suppliers when they commence working with MIP, to ensure that our conduct expectations and goals are clear at the outset of any new relationship.
  2. Recruitment policy. MIP operates a robust recruitment policy in all its Business Units, including conducting eligibility to work in the relevant location for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
  3. Whistleblowing Policy. The Company's Board of Directors has established a procedure for the confidential submission of concerns regarding questionable activities or conduct. This Policy has been established to enable employees, officers and directors of MIP, as well as MIP's sales agents, suppliers, customers and other key stakeholders to raise such concerns on a confidential basis, free from discrimination, retaliation or harassment, anonymously or otherwise. This Policy applies to all the Company's key stakeholders, including its employees, officers and directors as well as its suppliers and customers. https://www.mipinc.com/whistleblowing-policy.html Corporate Social Responsibility Statement. As outlined above, this document is freely available online and sets important expectations for the business around its openness and integrity. MIP operates a robust CSR process to ensure MIP upholds and promotes Human Rights, as given in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the eight core Working Conditions standards of the International Labour Organization, and critical aspects of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI Base Code). This includes (but is not limited to) Child Labour, Forced Labour and Harassment and Abuse.

https://www.mipinc.com/corporate-social-responsibility.html


MIP Suppliers

MIP operates and maintains an approved supplier list. MIP conducts due diligence on all suppliers before allowing them to become an approved supplier. As noted above, this due diligence may include an independent 3rd Party Audit to ensure that an organisation complies to the legal requirements relating to modern slavery including a review of working conditions.

Furthermore, suppliers to MIP must complete a Supplier Declaration Form confirming they comply with National Rules of Law and various other Internationally recognised standards relating to Working Conditions, including the International Labour Organisation.


MIP performance indicators

MIP will know the effectiveness of the steps that MIP is taking to ensure that slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within its business or supply chain if:

  • No reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.
  • Where applicable, independent 3rd Party Audits do not highlight areas of risk, concern, or failure to comply with relevant standards and legislation.

Given these indicators, we are confident that MIP is currently effective in managing the risk that slavery and human trafficking is taking place in our business or supply chain, although this is, of course, a consideration that we will keep under continuous review


Monitoring

MIP's Board of Directors and Senior Managers are committed to making every reasonable and appropriate effort to ensure the continuous implementation and application of the principles and values defined in this document, to rectify any shortcomings as rapidly as possible and to keep it current by:

  • communicating our Modern Slavery Statement and its implementation to employees, business partners and other interested parties.
  • ensuring that all employees have read and understood this Modern Slavery Statement and have had the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification.

Approval for this statement

This statement was revised and approved by the Board of Directors on December 15, 2022

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