MANUFACTURING PARTNERS:

DEUTER SETS STORE IN LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS

based on trust and mutual respect. Establishing good working relationships that are equitable is important to us. deuter consciously abstains from supplier hopping (frequently changing suppliers to gain more favorable prices). Because that’s how we can build mutual trust and closer ties with our partners. Every employee – whether they’re in Asia, USA, or Europe – is a highly valued member of the deuter family. We work together with our partners in an open, honest, and constructive way.

Our sourcing strategy is based on obtaining all our products from just two suppliers:

  • We have been working with our backpack manufacturer, Duke, in Vietnam since 1991.
  • We have been working with our sleeping bag manufacturer, Bellmart, in China since 2004, and in Myanmar since 2015.

DUKE, IN VIETNAM, HAS BEEN
MAKING OUR ENTIRE BACKPACK
COLLECTION TO THE HIGHEST
STANDARDS SINCE 1991

DUKE – OUR BACKPACK PARTNER

Duke, in Vietnam, has been making our entire backpack collection to the highest standards since 1991. Duke manufactures exclusively for deuter, and deuter in turn pledges to have all its backpacks made by Duke. The site is responsible for 90% of all deuter products.

What started out with just 35 sewing machines and 50 employees, has now grown into two highly specialized backpack factories in Vietnam, with around 4,000 employees exclusively making deuter backpacks and accessories. And today, Duke is not just responsible for production, but also for logistics in all our distribution countries.

For two generations now, deuter has enjoyed a close relationship with the Oh family and Duke, based on mutual trust and friendship. Over the last 30 years+, Duke has developed a high level of expertise as a manufacturer, supplier, logistician, and partner to deuter. For instance, Duke has a special CSR team at its headquarters and production sites that ranks highly within the management hierarchy and is therefore able to affect change or address issues effectively together with senior management.

AND WE COOPERATE WITH OUR
SLEEPING BAG PRODUCER
BELLMART IN CHINA SINCE 2004
AND IN MYANMAR SINCE 2015.

BELLMART – OUR SLEEPING BAG PARTNER

In 2004, deuter teamed up with Bellmart to develop down and synthetic sleeping bags together at its factory in Xiamen, China. Initially, this is where our entire sleeping bag range was made.

In 2015, the production of synthetic fill sleeping bags was moved to Bellmart’s production site in Myanmar, leaving only down sleeping bags in Xiamen.

Bellmart is a bluesign® System partner and is therefore regularly inspected by bluesign® advisors to ensure that good OHS (Occupational Health & Safety) and environmental standards are being upheld. Its Xiamen factory is also certified according to the RDS (Responsible Down Standard).

We maintain regular communication with our partners and carry out joint auditing and training measures. Audits are scheduled at intervals of 3 years at most, to get a clear understanding of the situation in each factory. Audit reports are discussed at regular meetings (at least twice yearly) between senior management teams from deuter and our suppliers. The deuter CSR team then follows up on any corrective action plans which arise from these audits with emails, Skype or video conferencing calls, and in-country site visits.

STATEMENT ZU COVID

The global COVID 19 outbreak is assuming proportions that present us with unprecedented challenges and far exceed the scope of action of any single company. Regardless, our commitment to respecting human rights among our production partners and suppliers holds true. As a member of the Fair Wear Foundation and as a member of the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles, but also as a responsible company, we want to mitigate negative impacts of the COVID 19 outbreak on the factories and workers in the textile supply chain, both individually and together with other stakeholders, and secure stable relationships for the future.