As a successful clothing company of the 21st Century, OLYMP Bezner KG, based in Bietigheim-Bissingen (in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg in Germany), is fully aware of a long term responsibility towards its employees, suppliers, producers and customers. The manufacture of OLYMP products is carried out in production facilities which comply with internationally recognised and verifiable social standards based on the principles of fairness.

OLYMP has always been very aware of its corporate commitment to its employees and partners, and takes social responsibility extremely seriously, particularly in the production facilities outside Germany. The management strives at all times to ensure that OLYMP products are not only sound in terms of their human ecology and of high quality, but are also manufactured in the partner companies in accordance with precisely specified social standards.

In order to guarantee these social standards, the demanding production process is therefore carried out by a limited number of long-standing production partners in Asia and South East Europe, with whom OLYMP enjoys a close and extremely trusting working relationship, which in some cases dates back over 40 years.

OLYMP consequently demands a general compliance with globally recognised, respected and bind-ng social standards from its partner operations. The greater part of its production volumes is manufactured in production facilities that have been awarded SA 8000:2001 certification by Social Accountability International (SAI). Furthermore, through its membership of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), OLYMP is committed to the maintenance of far-reaching social standards in the manufacture of its products. In addition to safety at work, these include the regulation of working hours, appropriate remuneration, humane working conditions, the provision of health and social facilities, along with a clear ban on any form of child labour, forced labour or discrimination. The observance of these social standards is monitored and checked at regular intervals by independent test institutes.

Through their continuous presence on-site in the production workshops, OLYMP's own employees are also able to monitor the observance of the quality standards and the working conditions. In this way, any misunderstandings which may arise can be directly and immediately resolved in accordance with the company philosophy. Furthermore, the OLYMP management makes several visits every year to each individual site to personally witness for themselves that the production conditions are in accordance with the required standards.

Due to the fact that OLYMP imports virtually all of its products directly, and as a result of a clear transparency in the supply chain, the local presence in the production facilities, as well as the responsible and long-standing working relationships with carefully selected partners, OLYMP is able to ensure that clearly defined social standards and humane working conditions are observed.

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In the 21st Century, modern textiles need to satisfy all kinds of extremely stringent requirements. Contemporary clothing is expected to maintain lasting colour brilliance, offer a high level of wear comfort and be durable, easy-care and wrinkle-free. Nowadays, these quality criteria and the many additional functional characteristics of textiles are demanded as a matter of course and, depending on their specific use, can be indispensable. However, the diverse demands placed on textile and clothing products by highly critical consumers, cannot be achieved without the use of specific chemical substances.

For this reason, in the manufacture of their high quality products, OLYMP Bezner KG mainly uses natural fibres from renewable raw materials such as cotton, wool, silk and cashmere. These fibres are particularly breathable and feel very comfortable against the skin. In order to achieve the desired and necessary textile characteristics, the fibres/fabric undergo chemical finishing processes, which have been continuously optimised through on-going development work and in collaboration with renowned textile companies, and perfectly adapted to suit the specific requirements of the OLYMP target group.

In addition to an uncompromising standard of product quality, OLYMP also makes every effort to offer its customers maximum safety and transparency, so that they can be certain that a garment purchased from OLYMP will pose no risks whatsoever to their health. OLYMP products have to meet extensive human ecological requirements and are predominantly certified in accordance with the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100. The Oeko-Tex® certificate is only awarded to a garment of clothing when all other materials and components from all suppliers meet these strict requirements and have similar certification. The scientifically based parameters which are set by the independent test institute of the Oeko-Tex® Association, as well as the nationally renowned Hohenstein Textile Testing Institute GmbH & Co. KG based in Bönnigheim (Baden-Württemberg), relating to the regular testing for harmful substances and compatibility, have already been continuously fulfilled by OLYMP with absolute reliability since 1995.

The Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 is an independent certification system for textiles that have been tested to ensure they do not contain harmful substances and, in most cases, its requirements clearly exceed those stipulated by legislation. The Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 does not only forbid the use of illegal substances such as carcinogenic AZO dyes, but also substances which are harmful or potentially harmful to health though not regulated or prohibited by law. In many cases, OLYMP achieves values that are clearly below the upper limits set by the Oeko-Tex Standard 100. In addition, the Oeko-Tex® criteria catalogue also includes other parameters such as excellent colour fastness or a skin-friendly pH value.

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