The main asset of Veshin is its employees. We currently employ 42 people, of which 11 are in our office. Our workforce is composed of 50% female, and 30% are migrant workers. We have 1 employee with a disability working in the factory, and we have a recruitment procedure designed to eliminate discrimination. We ensure that gender equality is applied in each aspect of the company, including salary distribution, and guarantee that migrant workers have actively decided to live here to work, even though their families live in a different town.

It is important that we understand factories in the context and culture of the country that it is operating in. For example, in China, there is a strong desire from people who live in smaller towns and villages to work in a bigger city, however, our employees strongly rely on the support of parents and grandparents for childcare. This is why we ensure that our migrant workers have the ability to go back to their hometowns.

Veshin operates like a family based on a trust system and esteem for each other. All management has very long lasting relationships with employees, thanks to a stable workforce, driven by mutual respect.

We believe that Health and Safety should not even be considered an aspect of sustainability, but be a necessary condition without which there is no production.

This is why we welcomed all the suggestions from BSCI, and are aiming to become ISO 45001 certified. We don’t use hazardous machinery, however, with basic sewing machines, cutting machines, and the use of glues, there is always an element of risk, which is why we have notice boards reminding us of good practice, and training on health and safety.

Similarly to wages, we appreciate the government’s frequent unannounced checks to ensure that fire safety measures are in place, and that trainings are carried out. We meet or exceed the government’s standards for all other variables too, such as PPE, noise, air quality, and fire extinguisher locations.

We only use water based glues, and ensure to always meet the standards required by our client’s Restricted Substances List.

Through the BSCI audit, we have calculated that our employees receive salaries that are 10% higher than the industry standard and 40% higher than local law minimum wage requirements. Our goal is to ensure that our employees are able to live a fulfilling life with the means that we provide, and have enough time to spend with their families.

We follow the government’s law on wages, and appreciate that extremely high standards are requested. Regular checks are carried out to ensure that 100% of our employees have long term contracts, that taxes are paid correctly, and that wages are received on time through direct deposit systems that we set up with our banks. We do not pay our employees based on their productivity, but have a standard monthly salary, as we do not want to put pressure on them and we trust that the resulting quality will be much higher if they can take the time required for every stitch and every fold.

We give annual bonuses based on the seniority of employees, and the performance of factory and of specific employees, which is established through meetings with supervisors and peers.

We want to ensure that our employees are encouraged to pursue the career they like, and are supported to learn new skills. We have a set of trainings available to our employees, both to grow within the company, and to learn new vocational skills. We have seen a particular interest in learning languages, and will keep supporting this to be an option for Veshin staff.

At Veshin, we aim to aid the formation of sustainability that goes beyond our products, making sure humanity is achieved.

We ensure our work supports the communities around us and currently support ACTAsia to sustain the health of the lives that shape up our planet. ACTAsia teaches children about respect and kindness cultivating a deeper level of understanding the interdependence of all living things, educating consumers about the production process behind the goods they consume, and educating professionals through a network built in Asian societies to have the best practice and knowledge of the importance of considering animals’ welfare, and assure their are standards in place and upheld.

Veshin donates staff hours dedicated to volunteering initiatives, based on monthly availability in terms of time, and what our community is facing each month.

We want to support the desire that our employees have to help the community, which is why we encourage them to volunteer with their time, in parallel with monetary donations. The latest example is the most recent Covid outbreak in China, during which our employees supported testing centres.

The Veshin team has participated in education initiatives around the world. We believe that educating students, sensitising the young generation to climate change and supply chain issues, and inspiring them by sharing exciting examples of positive change, is an extremely powerful way of creating long term impact. We have trained one intern per year, and we want to continue offering first hand experience to university students.

Our future plans include doing more guest panels and presentations, as well as collaborating with the University for Peace and Mareblu Beach Clean Up in Costa Rica.