Lidl is publishing a list of the suppliers behind its private label brands in Germany. The discounter is one of the first chains in the world to disclose such sensitive information, and says it does so in a move to become more sustainable and transparent.
List of suppliers
The list will reveal all its main suppliers for private label brands, both food and non-food – from baked goods to cosmetics and garden furniture. The supermarket chain also promises to regularly update the list and display it openly on its website.
Lidl already started disclosing where the production sites of its private label clothing and shoe suppliers were located in 2017. “In order to know where and how our products are produced, it is important to know our business partners as well as possible. At the same time, our customers want to know more about how our products are manufactured. We want to meet that wish, in combination with our demand for more transparency,” explains Jan Bock, Purchasing Director at Lidl Germany.
The initiative is part of the retailer’s sustainability policy. The chain emphasises that all suppliers should also follow a “Code of Conduct”, which is supposed to guarantee the basic rights of all employees in the supply chain. The retailer says that independent experts also regularly inspect non-food production sites. Nonetheless, NGOs repeatedly point out that infringements are mainly found among suppliers’ subcontractors, who are not inspected.
