Group progression: Liberty London

What do you see as being the key benefits of ETI's group progression approach?  

Group progression sessions have been a game changer for Liberty. We have found them very useful for a number of reasons, the main one being how practical they are. Listening to the presentations by other members gives us a sense of reassurance and helps us pinpoint what we should focus on moving forward. Moreover, each group progression session offers a lot more depth on the topic it tackles and so it feels like we are given significantly more guidance than before.  

Tell us about the group progression sessions you’ve attended. What stood out for you?    

The key takeaway from all five group progression sessions I’ve attended is that each ETI company member has their own take on fulfilling the minimum requirements and this is encouraged. It’s very reassuring to know that while there is a general framework to follow, we can all adapt our methods to suit our business set-ups and needs. It was particularly refreshing to hear how the other members approach remedy and that there is no one-size-fits-all. Being a relatively small brand Liberty, might not have the resources and the leverage that some other brands have to enforce change and this is fine as long as we do the right thing and aim to continuously improve. 

What actions have ETI group progression sessions prompted at your company, if any? 

The CTF progression session was particularly useful for Liberty as it prompted us to change the way we engage with suppliers on publishing their factory data. Inspired by the guidance provided by ETI, we have decided to switch to the opt-out rather than opt-in approach. This has actually led to an increase in the number of Tier 1 factories we were able to upload to the Open Supply Hub in comparison to 2023. We have also created an FAQ section for our suppliers highlighting the benefits of using the Open Supply Hub and having more transparent supply chains.