Who are we?

We are passionate about uplifting the lives of those who are less fortunate, particularly children and youth. By contributing and participating in socio-economic activities through our MRP Foundation, we help build sustainable livelihoods in our extended communities. Established in 2005, the Foundation carries out programmes that respond to challenges facing young South Africans such as poor education, unemployment and the skills gap of school leavers entering the job market.

MRP Foundation Schools Programme Schools in South Africa, particularly those in less privileged communities, face a range of obstacles such as a shortage of resources and skilled educators, as well as a lack of good management and parental involvement. The MRP Foundation Schools programme is a direct response to these challenges and aims to improve learner performance by helping to create sustainable transformation in selected schools and districts. Through funds raised, the Foundation is able to train more teachers, donate mobile libraries and nurture the children's talents with art, dance, drama, sport and music classes.

Jumpstart Programme As a result of many children receiving a poor education, many young South Africans find themselves unemployed and unable to access job opportunities. This is why the Foundation initiated the Jumpstart Programme which facilitates the development of scarce skills in the South African retail, manufacturing and textile sectors by training unemployed youth. Local school leavers are able to access entry level job opportunities created through the Foundation's partnership with MRP suppliers, stores and other retail partners in South Africa. What are you doing to minimise your impact on the environment?

Transportation By using sophisticated virtual route modeling methods, the outbound transportation and distribution service provider for MRP Group has successfully implemented significant fuel and kilometer travel reductions.

In-store We've implemented low energy lighting into all our new store designs which has significantly reduced our energy usage and carbon emissions across the MRP Group. Our existing stores are in the process of being retrofitted as well. Over the past two years, we've reduced our carbon footprint by approximately 18.5 million Kwh (18 397 tons CO2 emissions) from this focused energy management.

An environmentally aware team We're taking active steps to embed a culture of sustainability within our business. Through employee training and awareness programmes, we encourage long-term impacts to be considered in business decisions. From our rooftop veggie garden at head office to our nationwide clothing recycling initiatives, we're dedicated to minimising our environmental footprint while conserving natural habitats.

The Clothing Bank We donate clothing to The Clothing Bank, a non-profit organisation which helps unemployed mothers become self-employed by teaching them basic business and life skills. The donated clothes are then sold to the mothers in the programme for a fraction of the cost and are intended for resale in their communities. The benefits are two-fold, the women are able to earn an income and they are encouraged to use the skills they learn in the classroom in real life business transactions.

We are the founding members of two Clusters funded by the South African Department of Trade and Industry the Sustainable Cotton Cluster and a Regional Footwear and Leather Cluster.

Sustainable Cotton Cluster. We are founding members of the Sustainable Cotton Cluster together with farmers, spinners, ginners and other key cotton value chain organisations. Through this partnership, the Cluster aims to develop a competitive and sustainable local cotton value chain by encouraging growth in cotton production while reducing the environmental footprint. From sowing and growing to gathering and harvesting, the cotton will journey through a flourishing supply chain from the farm to the store.

Local to a Tee We recently committed to sourcing 994 tons of locally grown cotton that was transformed into five million garments. As a result, the South African cotton producers increased cotton production by 68% in one year, which in turn created approximately 947 new jobs and training for over 100 people.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) The Sustainable Cotton Cluster is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative. From 2016, all cotton grown in South Africa will be aligned to the BCI standards to ensure that cotton workers are treated fairly and environmental best practice is applied by reducing the negative impact of fertilisers and pesticides, and caring for water, soil health and natural habitats.

Growing forward, together In the next three years, we aim to increase small scale cotton farm production, train 2600 people and create over 7200 jobs as well as 600 small, medium and micro enterprises representing the value chain. We'd like to see local cotton production increase by 446% by 2016. Do your manufacturers adhere to ethical employment and business practices?

We're continually working with our suppliers to improve the ethics and business practices of our supply chain. We've also partnered with leading organisations who share our values and assist us in our journey towards creating ethical supply chains.

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) We're proud to be a Foundation Stage member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs that promotes respect for workers' rights around the globe. We are committed to ongoing improvements in working conditions and treating the people that make garments for our business fairly.

Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) SEDEX is dedicated to driving improvements in responsible and ethical business practices in global supply chains. MRP is a member of SEDEX and all of our suppliers are required to become members as well. By using the SEDEX system, we're able to monitor the social and environmental practices of our suppliers and manufacturing sites.

WWF (World Wildlife Fund) WWF provide input into our strategic plans and ensure that all material and relevant environmental aspects are considered and actioned as part of our business strategy.

Yes, our Supplier Code of Conduct is aligned with international standards, including the Ethical Trading Initiative's Base Code. The Code is used by our resource, quality and buying teams to assess and monitor supplier business ethics, labour, health and environmental practices.