Responsibility Report
Our Progress
A year has now passed since the launch of our inaugural Responsibility Report. As we welcome this moment of reflection, we celebrate the accomplishments of the past twelve months and trace the path for the work ahead.
2022
Despite a challenging year, we continued building a stronger business for the future. With our communities at the heart of what we do, we strongly invested in education, from our support for projects in Mongolia, to the development of our teams at the both our Ayr and Hawick mills, celebrating diversity in all our outlets.
We have made significant progress, advancing our commitment to the products we make, the people in our supply chain and our impact on the planet, by submitting our application to become Certified B Corp.
Begg x Co now arrives at a new chapter as we launch this report coinciding with the unveiling of our London store. Making Burlington Arcade our home, we take our place in a shopping destination that has celebrated craft and quality for over 200 years.
Just as last year, our pledges throughout this report are aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our core values - Craftsmanship, Responsibility, Authenticity, Comfort and Colour – lead the way in what we do and our commitment to being transparent about our journey moves forward in this, our second annual Responsibility Report.
Our Pledges
Responsibility – to our people, product and planet – sits at the core of Begg x Co.
From certified energy management systems and maintaining animal welfare to improving supply chain standards and the proactive repurposing of waste, we are always looking to improve the impact we have on the environment and the community around us. Find out more:
People | Planet | Product
Responsibility Report 2021
In 2021, we launched our inaugural Responsibility Report as the world arrived in our home city of Glasgow for the COP26 Climate Change Conference. In a decisive moment for Begg x Co and for the world, we took the opportunity to reflect on our corporate responsibility efforts to date and acknowledge that we could still do more.
Alongside the report, we commissioned Glaswegian spoken word artist, André AKA 77 of diversity collective Forij, to write an ode to Scotland; past, present and future. The piece, entitled ‘Fresh Ayr’, is an invitation to pause, a prompt to reflect and a challenge to act.
Learn More
People
We make strenuous efforts to ensure that people are treated fairly at every step of our supply chain. As members of the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, nurturing close relationships with key suppliers is something that we take very seriously. We invest heavily in our people to develop their skills. There are many opportunities for employees to get involved in developing the business and in our support for charities, locally and further afield.
The Sustainable Fibre Alliance
Planet
We actively collaborate with several partners to ensure due diligence on all matters relating to the textile industry’s impact on the natural environment and work hard to minimise the inevitable risks. We follow the “Roadmap to Zero” programme to monitor and minimise our chemical footprint and to help produce safe products, cleaner water, and fresher air.
Product
Our Sustainability Manager, Ian Whiteford, and our sustainability team make regular visits to the farms in Mongolia and China to allow us to feel confident about high standards of animal husbandry and certifies that any cashmere, angora, or wool materials have been sourced ethically, without coming into contact with any harmful chemicals.
Sustainability
Sustainability and Quality are two of our key values at Begg x Co. From certified energy management systems, maintaining animal welfare and supply chain standards, to the creation and disposal of our waste – we are always looking to improve any impact we have on the environment.
