Responsible Sourcing and Manufacturing Practices
We are committed to pursuing fair, responsible and equitable supply chain practices that build business resilience and create long-term value for our suppliers and the workers they employ.. This includes measures to further responsible purchasing, strengthen worker well-being across our supply chain and implement effective traceability measures.
Our commitment to responsible business conduct extends to our expectations for our domestic and international suppliers. We have several mechanisms in place to provide guidance on implementing Target’s policies and practices for responsible business conduct, including Target’s Standards of Vendor Engagement (SOVE), our Applying Target’s SOVE manual, vendor trainings and our Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability inbox.
Partnerships
We engage with strategic stakeholders to address issues that matter to supply chain workers. We believe collaboration leads to greater impact, especially when it comes to improving the lives of workers and enhancing the resilience of our supply chain. This is why we focus on building meaningful partnerships with industry stakeholders, nonprofit organizations and other brands.
Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA)
We became a member of this UN-based alliance in 2022 and continued our engagement in 2023 to support our commitment that all tier 1 owned brand suppliers pay workers digitally by 2025, following responsible practices.
RISE
Target continues to serve as a member of the Leaders Circle for RISE, an initiative designed to support collaborative industry action at scale to advance gender equality in global garment, footwear and home textiles supply chains. Each year Target supports 15 to 20 suppliers to participate in RISE’s in-factory worker empowerment training across Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
CARE
Through our partnership with CARE Impact Partners, we are contributing to building industry capabilities to address barriers to gender equity. We are implementing an empower, test, and learn in-factory program strategy in seven factories and are sponsoring the Gender Equity Network (GEN) — a peer learning platform for suppliers — to which we have nominated 17 suppliers and recruited five other brands to nominate an additional 21 suppliers
Nest
In 2016, Target began a partnership with nonprofit Nest to serve the fashion and home industry’s global workforce who craft products in their homes or outside the traditional four-walled factory. Together, we developed industry-aligned standards — the Nest Standards for Homes and Small Workshops — which protect homeworkers’ safety, well-being and prosperity while giving brands visibility to the artisans in their supply chains. To date, Nest’s programs have reached more than 1,600 artisan businesses around the globe.
We also teamed up with Nest to create clearer indicators for consumers that their products are ethically handcrafted. In 2018, the Nest Seal made its retail debut thanks to the Nest Ethical Handcraft Program and is now located on select items at Target — including handwoven baskets — and we look forward to seeing it on more products in coming years. To earn the Nest Seal, the handcraft business producing the products must meet a set of rigorous compliance standards.