On 31 December 2008, we worked with more than 1,050 independent factories from around the world who manufactured our products in 66 countries. Many of these are in one of the following six countries: China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey or Vietnam.

Workers in our suppliers' factories play a central role in our programme. It was concern for their working conditions that led us to write our 'Workplace Standards'. These standards set out the Group¡¯s position on a number of challenging labour issues workers can face including:

a. Working hours

b.  Fair wages

c.  Freedom of association

e.  Child labor

To explain how we expect our suppliers to live up to our Standards, we have produced a number of supporting guidelines that further define expectations for fair, healthy and safe workplace conditions. All companies that source from developing countries face challenges in implementing codes of conduct such as our Workplace Standards.
 
Our strategy is based on a long-term vision of self-governance in our supply chain where suppliers take ownership of their compliance programme. To achieve this, we need to act both as inspectors and advisors ¨C assessing management commitment to compliance and the effectiveness of the programme, and providing help and support to suppliers to ensure success in the long term.