Sustainability Policy

SWAINE ·  HERBERT JOHNSON  ·  BRIGG

Corporate Social Responsibility Policy Statement

Approved July 2026 · Reviewed annually

Our Commitment

Swaine Group Ltd, trading as Swaine, Herbert Johnson and Brigg, has been making leather goods, hats and umbrellas by hand in England since 1750. That length of ownership over our own craft gives us a particular responsibility: to make things that last, to treat the people who make them well, and to leave the trades, materials and communities we depend on in better condition than we found them.

This policy sets out how we meet that responsibility across four areas: our products and materials, our people and craft skills, our environmental impact, and the standards we hold ourselves and our suppliers to. It applies to all three of our house brands and to every site, workshop and retail location trading under them.

 

Craftsmanship and Product Responsibility

Our starting point for social and environmental responsibility is the product itself. A Brigg umbrella, a Herbert Johnson hat or a Swaine leather good is built to be repaired, not replaced, and we back that with a standing repair and restoration service across all three brands. We regard this as our single largest sustainability contribution: a product that is mended for decades keeps material and labour out of landfill in a way no amount of reporting can match.

• We design and construct products for long service life and repairability, and we maintain in-house repair workshops for umbrellas, hats and leather goods.

• We favour natural, durable materials — leather, hardwoods, horn, wool felt and silk — sourced from suppliers who can demonstrate responsible origin and animal welfare standards.

• We disclose material origin to customers on request and are working toward clearer sourcing information across our product range.

Responsible Sourcing and Supply Chain

We work with a small number of long-standing English and European workshops and material suppliers rather than a diffuse global supply chain, which allows us to know our suppliers personally and to visit their premises. We expect every supplier to meet our standards on labour conditions, environmental practice and animal welfare, and we prioritise British manufacturers and mills where quality and capacity allow, in order to sustain the domestic trades our business depends on.

• We conduct due diligence on new suppliers and require compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and applicable animal welfare and environmental regulation.

• We give preference, where commercially practicable, to UK-based tanneries, mills, and component makers to help sustain domestic craft manufacturing.

• We review our principal supply relationships periodically and will end a relationship that fails to meet our standards.

Our People and the Preservation of Craft Skills

Hand skills in umbrella-making, hat-making and leathercraft take years to learn and are becoming scarce in Britain. Training the next generation of makers is therefore both a commercial necessity and a social responsibility we take seriously.

• We invest in structured on-the-job training so that traditional making skills are passed on within our workshops rather than lost.

• We provide fair pay, safe working conditions and secure employment terms to all staff, in craft and retail roles alike.

• We support equal opportunity in recruitment and progression and do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.

• We encourage open communication between craftspeople, management and ownership on working conditions and wellbeing.

 

Environmental Responsibility

Our environmental impact is modest relative to mass manufacturers, given our small-batch, hand-made model, but we take our own footprint seriously and look to reduce it where we can.

• We monitor and seek to reduce energy and water use in our workshops and retail premises.

• We minimise offcuts and material waste in cutting and construction and repurpose leather and fabric offcuts where possible.

• We reduce, and where possible eliminate, single-use plastic in packaging and shipping.

• We favour local and regional suppliers to reduce transport distances for materials and finished goods.
  

 

Community and Heritage

As custodians of trades that stretch back over two and a half centuries, we see a responsibility to the wider heritage of British craft, not only to our own commercial success.

• We support the documentation and public appreciation of umbrella-making, hat-making and leathercraft as living British trades.

• We support charitable and industry initiatives connected to British manufacturing skills where resources allow.

Ethics and Governance

• We conduct business honestly and do not offer, give or accept bribes, in line with the UK Bribery Act 2010.

• We respect the human rights of everyone affected by our operations, including employees, workshop partners and suppliers.

• We maintain accurate records and are transparent with customers about materials and origin

• Any employee or partner may raise a concern about a breach of this policy to management without fear of reprisal.

Review and Accountability

This policy is owned by the Directors of Swaine Group Ltd and is reviewed annually, or sooner if our operations or supply chain change materially. Progress against it is reported internally each year, and the policy itself is available to staff, suppliers and customers on request.

 

Signed:

Will Verdon 

Production Director