The assessment process aims to give Harrods a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability practices throughout its supply chain. Additionally, it can facilitate informed decision-making, enabling Harrods to prioritize suppliers who demonstrated strong sustainability credentials and align with the organisation's values.

In order to ensure relevance and continuous improvement across Harrods’ standards, the assessment requires yearly revision and updates to ensure the industry’s progress is reflected across the retailer’s preferred practices.

Firstly, the guidelines developed by Eco-Age included a vendor code of conduct in line with the International Labour Organisation standards to ensure rigorous social standard across the human capital involved within Harrods supply chain. The material guidelines served as a foundation for a sustainable sourcing approach across the fashion department and respective stock.

The assessment framework was then designed to evaluate the sustainability practices of buyers, brand partners, and manufacturers associated with Harrods. This allows Harrods to assess the sustainability credentials of each supplier based on predefined sustainability categories, such as company’s governance practices, sourcing practices, labour standards, circularity, transparency, and traceability. Each category has been adapted to the different product streams to ensure the respondents, whether Harrods direct suppliers, buyers or brand partners, are able to provide the required information.

The collaboration with Eco-Age has enabled Harrods to evaluate and prioritize suppliers based on their sustainability credentials, fostering a more sustainable fashion supply chain.