Ethical sourcing
St John Ambulance operates centralised
purchasing for a very large proportion of our goods though our
Supplies division. They operate an
ethical sourcing policy when sourcing goods from overseas (or from
UK based companies which themselves source from overseas)
Case study - Sourcing of medical dressings
In order to maximise the St John Ambulance brand, the charity
began a process in 2006 to introduce 'own labelling' of much of its
dressings range. To support this process,
SJAS
undertook the following:
- Accreditation to ISO13485:2003(Medical devices)
i. a South African ISO accredited manufacturer of sterile and
non-sterile cotton dressings
ii. a Chinese ISO accredited manufacturer of sterile and
non-sterile cotton dressings.
Both factories displayed evidence of good housekeeping in terms
of Quality Assurance, working conditions and Health and
Safety. The use of child labour was not in evidence.
Despite a considerable price advantage from the Chinese source,
St John Ambulance Supplies made the decision to award contract to
the South African factory, as they were perceived to be more
conscious of ethical and environmental considerations.