Materials and supply chains

Governance is carried out by two members of the executive committee: the Executive Vice-President of Corporate Development and Social Affairs and the Executive Vice-President in charge of Manufacturing Division and Equity Investments. 

The roll-out of group procedures is organised by the purchasing departments of the company’s métiers and entities, to ensure that the most relevant and practical measures are put in place. Two group departments, a direct purchasing department, which mainly concerns manufacturing operations, and an indirect purchasing department, supervise the system. The audit and risk department and the legal department carry out training and monitor these activities.

The Purchasing Council, which meets quarterly, arbitrates on key supply chain management issues, particularly in relation to purchasing and supplier risk mapping, procedures for sensitive countries and supply chain analyses. It is composed of three members of the Executive Committee, the Audit and Risks Department, the Direct and Indirect Purchasing Departments and the Industrial Transition Department.

The direct and indirect purchasing departments are responsible for implementing the responsible purchasing policy published in 2024 and other measures such as the supply chain brief, the CSR brief, or the supplier code of conduct.

The quality of the raw materials used is the first guarantee of the durability of Hermès objects : most of the materials used by Hermès come from natural and partly renewable sources, such as skins from farmed animals or for the main textile materials and wood. The house's historical preference for leather and natural fibers avoids the use of synthetic and non-renewable materials derived from petroleum.

The sustainability of Hermès' activities relies on its ability to secure the availability of the exceptional raw materials used.

In order to constantly align itself with the most demanding certification standards, and to gradually support its métiers in the sourcing of significant volumes of certified raw materials, Hermès has extended its objective of certification of the supply chains.  These certifications include environmental requirements (related to water, for example) and social requirements (related to working conditions, for example).

Within its supply chain, Hermès seeks to contribute to the deployment of responsible practices in sustainable development by sharing its ambition and commitments with its partners, supporting them in a continuous improvement approach.

The Responsible Purchasing policy is coherently integrated within a set of key documents related to Hermès' Corporate Social Responsibility : 

In December 2024, Hermès published its Responsible Purchasing policy, formalizing the group's commitments on four pillars: ethics and fundamental rights, environment, partnership relations, and local and solidarity purchases. Hermès expects all its partners to respect and share similar ambitions within their own value chain.

This Responsible Purchasing policy includes risk management related to supply chains and resources through the implementation of supply chain briefs and CSR briefs to control the entire value chain and co-create action plans for sustainable development. These documents are intended for all suppliers and manufacturers involved in the supply of Hermès' trades. All these documents are available on the group's website.

The supply chain brief is a roadmap for the group, co-constructed by the trades, the sustainable development department, the direct purchasing coordination department, and with the support of an independent expert firm. It is intended for all suppliers. It allows Hermès to share its requirements for ethical and sustainable supply chains and the protection of people, animals, and the environment. The brief outlines four principles of responsible purchasing: transparency, high standards, kindness, and fairness. This supply chain brief then specifies, for each supply chain, the prerequisites and certification recommendations where applicable, points of attention, and critical points. The latest version was published in December 2024.

By the end of 2023, 74 supply chains had been examined, representing 99% of the revenue with the support of expert firms, and a group policy was formalized around general and specific principles, including certification objectives for most supply chains according to the best existing standards by 2030.

The CSR brief is a policy formalized since 2021, which specifies the house's objectives and its expectations towards suppliers on nine themes, including circularity. Supplier audits are conducted with internal resources and independent external firms to verify, among other things, the compliance of their operations with the group's expectations.

Hermès systematically requests a formal commitment from its suppliers to comply with their social, regulatory and environmental obligations. This commitment Cet engagement is formalized by signing the Supplier Code of Conduct, which clearly and detailedly presents commitments regarding health and safety, working conditions, and respect for working hours, and also refers to international standards, particularly ILO conventions. Suppliers commit to declaring all their subcontractors in an appendix to this code and to implementing vigilance and control measures to ensure that their subcontractors fully comply with their obligations regarding human rights and health and safety.

ESAT les Micocouliers, the exclusive supplier of Hermès riding crops :

Since 1991, Hermès has been entrusting its entire production of riding crops, dressage sticks and whips to ESAT les Micocouliers, in Sorède (Pyrénées Orientales). In this establishment, which provides employment to people with mental disabilities, some 30 craftspeople perpetuate the tradition involving the braiding of hackberry – a strong and supple wood. At the foot of the Albères mountains, they work with the same dedication as the hundreds of villagers who carried out that work decades before them.

With the advent of the motor car, Sorède’s famous riding crops and whips became focused on the equestrian world and the circus universe. Production had almost disappeared when a regional non-profit organisation had the idea of reviving it in the late 1970s through a center dedicated to providing work to disabled people. The savoir-faire and the objects it generate have thus survived the passage of time and are sold worldwide. Hermès’ initial trade relations with ESAT les Micocouliers date back to the 1980s. The House is now one of its main clients.

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