Until 2003 Switcher SA will administer its social responsibility commitments according to the terms of SA 8000. This norm stipulates requirements of a code drawn up by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to give effect to both the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Man and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children. The following ILO conventions applies :

• ILO 29 & 105 on forced labor
• ILO 87 on the right to join unions
• ILO 98 on the right of collective bargaining
• ILO 10 & 111 on equal remuneration and non-discrimination
• ILO 135 on workers' representation
• ILO 138 and Recommendation 146 on minimum working age
• ILO 138 and Recommendation 164 on health and safety of workers
• ILO 159 on professional re-training and employment for the handicapped
• ILO 177 on working at home

What is an Environmental Management System ?

An Environmental Management System is the total organized effort a business puts in place to ensure that the products and services it conceives, manufactures and markets do not menace, directly or indirectly, the environment.

For the purposes of this norm, environment is understood to mean all of the elements which make up the company's operating environment, in other words water, air, ground, natural resources, plants, animal life, people; and their interaction.

Basic principles for application

• Make Environmental Management one of the company's priorities
• Open dialogue with all interested parties, internal or external to the company.
• Examine environmental legal requirements affecting products or services provided by the company.
• Develop Management and Personnel commitment to protect the environment.
• Encourage environmental planning for the entire life cycle of the product.

What benefits can be expected from an Environmental Management System ?

• A response to customer expectations in the field of environmental protection.
• Maintenance of good relations with the socio-economic community Ability to satisfy investment criteria for certain financiers
• Good insurance protection at reasonable costs
• Enhanced company image
• Compliance with Certification obligations for certain buyers
• Cost control
• Limited civil and criminal responsibility

Status in our company

We currently operate an informal environmental management system composed of:

• a declaration of environmental policy as part of the policy declaration on quality in general, in which generic or operational environmental objectives are not specified
• programs for waste-handling (tri-selective for every department) and hazard control (notably for fire prevention with, for example, a sprinkler system in the warehouse). There are no formal environmental protection procedures defined in these programs. A detailed analysis of every company process implicating the environment will facilitate a full accounting of status.

All of our personnel are actively involved in an environmentally friendly culture, and Switcher's image is strongly linked, visually and verbally, with the idea of respect for the environment. Earning the label 'Öko-Tex Standard 100' authenticates this perception.