OUR KNITWEAR FACTORY
Hongda Garment Co
Knitwear is a staple for us, so it’s got to be good.
For high-quality knitwear, we work closely with this factory and value their expertise and know-how.
Location
China: Dibei Road, Shengzhou City,
Shaoxing prefecture, Zhejiang province
No. of employees
485
Social & environmental certificates
Child Labour Free
Business Social Compliance Initiative
OEKO-TEX Textile Certification
Use Bluesign Certified Wool
Use Responsible Wool Standard (Biella Yarn)
Woolmark
ISO Certification 9001, 12001, 18001
Who are they?
Based in the Shengzhou region southwest of Shanghai, their team are knitwear experts who manufacture high-end garments for some of the best brands in Europe and the United States. We’ve been working with them on our knits for over six years, and they exclusively partner with Barkers in the New Zealand market.
What do they make?
Our knitwear comes from these guys, including our renowned merino and lambswool ranges, and our new luxury fabric developments such as cashmere, alpaca and linen. Their merino knitwear is made from certified Responsible Wool Standard Biella yarn (Bluesign certified) supplied by Sudwolle.
Why them?
Aside from being great people who we really enjoy doing business with (we think that’s so important) we wanted to select the very best knitwear supplier we could find to make product to our high standards. Their factory is highly specialised, making fully-fashioned knitwear using state of the art automatic and computerised knitting machines from Italy, with all hand linking performed by expertly skilled staff.
They also prioritise research and development with a dedicated division in the company, partnerships with universities, and relationships with technical professionals. This has led to them being awarded a wide range of patents.
What are their environmental and ethical standards?
These guys have exceptionally high ethical standards for their employees and run their own independent audit process under the BSCI system. Like our other suppliers, they have recently passed a further independent audit commissioned by Barkers under the Child Labor Free audit system.
Their factory workers are paid well above the living and minimum wage for their region, they also receive overtime pay and have access to collective bargaining.
They’re certified under the ISO Management Systems for 9001 Management Systems, 14001 Environmental Management Systems, 18001 Health & Safety Management Systems, and BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) system. This system centres around consistent, independent testing and certification for raw, semi-finished, and finished textiles, as well as all the little bits too, from buttons and zips to threads and labels.
Hongda are also committed to an environmental audit under the OEKO-TEX system. They have a 2004 International Environmental Management System Certificate and are in strict compliance with related procedures.
