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Ethical Statement

At Half Moon Bay, integrity is at the heart of everything we do. 

Our commitment 

We are committed to conducting our business in a manner that reflects our ethical and environmental values. We apply this approach to all of our supply chain, from design, sourcing and production to transportation and individual consumer purchase. We recognise that it is our responsibility to ensure that the way we do business is accountable, and does not impact negatively on the people we work with, the communities we touch, or the environment. When customers buy Half Moon Bay products, we want them to be confident that they have been produced through fair and honest dealing, without damaging the environment or exploiting the people who made them.  As a family company we are dedicated to improving the wellbeing of workers and their families. We want our business to be one where all workers throughout our supply chain are treated with respect and fairness. 

 Our suppliers 

We have always looked to suppliers whose values align with our own, and have fostered long-term relationships with factories that have consistently delivered high-quality products created in safe and fair working environments. With the support of our colleagues at our Half Moon Bay office in China, we work to maintain a transparent dialogue through regular communication and factory visits. We endeavour to be open and honest with our suppliers and expect the same in return.  

Onboarding new suppliers, we require that all factories must comply with our Supplier Code of Conduct, a statement of our most basic requirements which must be met in order to trade with Half Moon Bay. All suppliers must agree to these terms before carrying out any production. Our code is based on the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code, covering the conventions of the International Labour Organisation which is an internationally recognised code of labour practice. These commitments are intended to guide our relationship with suppliers and to continually raise standards over time. While these requirements are the minimum we accept, there is a strong expectation that suppliers exceed these standards. All suppliers must complete our Supplier Questionnaire and have a valid third-party ethical audit, either Sedex or BSCI-certified and corrective action plan in place with agreed time frame. 

 Grievances

We are committed to ensuring that effective grievance mechanisms are in place throughout our supply chain. Each workplace must have a consistent procedure that provides a clear and transparent framework to address complaints safely and discreetly. The systems must be robust and accessible to all workers.

 Going beyond the audits  

While audits provide a necessary benchmark, we recognise that their scope is limited, and key issues such as bullying, and harassment can be overlooked. Aligning with the United Nation’s Guiding Principles, we recognise that it is our responsibility to ensure the workers in our supply chain are safeguarded against human rights abuses. Going beyond the audit means engaging with workers to better understand their situations and opening dialogue that is often missed. During 2023, we will be meeting with our factories to explain our intentions and to deepen our understanding of the challenges that workers face. We will be exploring the use of worker well-being surveys and working closely with our factories to find options that are workable and beneficial. By the end of 2024, we are intending to publish our findings and plans for improvements as part of our ongoing Commitment.

 Monitoring 

We monitor our suppliers against our Supplier Code of Conduct, Supplier Questionnaire, and the Corrective Action Plans as per their individual audits. We contact our suppliers for progress reports and updates. We review our Code to ensure any new advancements are updated and communicated to our suppliers.

Our Half Moon Bay China office make visits and inspections to our factories, and we speak directly to our suppliers via video call. 

 Non-compliance and remediation  

If we were to find that a supplier is not meeting obligations towards workers or the environment in the way that we would expect, we will dedicate resources to work together to help them implement improvements.  Any employees, members of our supply chain or the public can raise concerns directly to us about wrongdoing. All issues will be handled with discretion and in strictest confidence. Our Head of Operations can be contacted at help@halfmoonbay.co.uk. We are committed to using all reasonable endeavours to act within our direct operations and wider sphere of influence to safeguard against human rights abuses within our supply chain. If we find repeated non-compliances and the supplier is not willing to make corrective actions within an agreed timescale, it is our policy to terminate the co-operation with the supplier and cancel existing orders.

 Sourcing and Buying 

We are working to understand the origins of the materials we purchase, and the effects our everyday business actions have across our supply chain.  By planning our schedules in advance, we aim to enable factories to manage their workload and avoid excess overtime and stress. Customers will be informed if their purchasing expectations risk undermining our ability to uphold decent working conditions at our factories. We want our suppliers to feel confident when we place orders that they will be paid on time, that we will not change the agreed quantity or deadline agreed, and that we will not push to reduce costs once final quotes are received

 Environmental Impact   

We are committed to minimising our environmental footprint throughout our product creation, from the way we design to the materials we use. Although vast improvements have been made in recent years, the environmental impact of factory waste is still a concern that requires attention and monitoring. We are working with suppliers to identify risks at site level, and to learn more about the effects of pollution resulting from manufacturing processes.  Consumer products have significant environmental impact, so we are always innovating with new materials and eco-friendly alternatives. Our purpose is to strike a balance between making products that are sustainable and also maintaining quality and durability. We are always keen to hear new ideas and initiatives from our suppliers.   

Alternatives to plastic 
Reducing the use of plastic is one of our priorities. As well as developing reusable and recyclable travel mugs such as RPET, we are always on the lookout for sustainable materials. Where possible, paper is used for packing rather than cellophane or polybags and we welcome ideas from suppliers on how to further eliminate plastic from our supply chain.   

 

Cotton

We are working with our textile suppliers to source sustainable options such as recycled or organic cotton that are better for the environment.  

Paper  
It is important to us that the paper we purchase has been responsibly sourced, with consideration for wildlife and the environment.  All of our stationery suppliers are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. The FSC logo gives assurance that all FSC certified materials originate from forests that are managed with strict FSC principles, including the protection of habitats, prevention of pollution, planting of more trees, and avoidance of displacing native peoples and harming wildlife.   

 Product quality and compliance 

Our dedicated design team ensures that our products are functional, fit for purpose and manufactured to the highest quality. It is important to us that the Half Moon Bay brand can be valued and trusted by our customers. We require that all products are made by suppliers technically competent within their specific area. All products are put through our product compliance process to ensure they are safe to use in accordance with General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) and EU food safety standards. Our products are inspected during production and tested by independent accredited labs.

Charitable Partnerships 

We carefully select license partners and brands, taking on accounts and charitable organisations whose ethics align with ours. Our UK license portfolio includes Moomin, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Battersea Dogs Home, PDSA and National Trust. We are especially proud to partner with Oxfam, and to have worked with TKMaxx on behalf of Comic Relief. 

We support our local community, contributing to charities such as Genesis Trust Food Bank and Julian House Homeless Charity. We use local businesses where we can, and are Headline sponsors of Creative Bath, a local organisation supporting young people in the creative sector.

Roles & responsibilities 

Half Moon Bay’s Managing Director and Head of Operations are accountable for this policy. All Half Moon Bay managers are responsible for its implementation. All staff, across UK and China offices are required to adhere to this policy. The Head of Operations and Compliance Coordinator will be responsible for facilitating and monitoring the implementation of this policy across the organisation, and for reporting to the Managing Director about performance with respect to policy implementation.