Modern Slavery Statement

1. Purpose of this statement

This statement sets out the steps Runway Merchants LLP takes to prevent slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chain. It is made voluntarily and is reviewed each year. It covers our own operations and the suppliers, factories, workshops and service providers we engage for goods and logistics.

2. Our structure and operations

We are a trading company based in Hajipur, Bihar, India. We are registered under LLPIN ADC-5347. We source agricultural commodities, processed food, textiles, handicrafts and manufactured goods from India, and arrange inspection, freight and export documentation for buyers in the Gulf, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. We employ a small commercial and sourcing team. We do not own factories.

Because we do not own production, the main risk sits one or more tiers below us, with the factories, farms, workshops and labour contractors that make or handle the goods. Our leverage is the order, and we use it at the point of selection and at the point of renewal.

3. Our supply chain

Our supply base falls into four broad groups:

• farms, aggregators and processors of grains, pulses, spices, tea and coffee;
• food processing and packing units, including cold-chain and frozen produce;
• textile mills, garment units and home-textile workshops;
• handicraft, marble, brass, wood and bamboo workshops, often small and family-run.

The highest-risk categories for us are seasonal agricultural labour, contract labour in processing and packing, small workshops with informal records, and any use of recruitment agents who charge workers for a placement. We treat those as risk indicators, not as assumptions about any particular supplier.

4. The standards we require

Suppliers working with us must meet the following minimum standards:

• No forced labour. Employment is voluntary. Workers are not required to lodge identity documents, pay deposits, or accept deductions that keep them in a job.
• No child labour. No worker below the minimum legal age is employed, and young workers are not given hazardous work.
• No recruitment fees. Workers do not pay for their job, directly or through an agent. Where a fee has been charged, the supplier must repay it.
• Freedom of movement and resignation. Workers can leave their accommodation and end employment with reasonable notice, without penalty.
• Wages and hours. Wages are paid on time, meet the legal minimum, and hours comply with local law, including overtime rules.
• No harassment or discrimination. Workers are treated with respect regardless of gender, caste, religion, nationality, age or disability.
• Grievance route. Workers have a way to raise a concern without retaliation, and know how to use it.

5. How we check

Our due diligence is proportionate to the order and the risk. It includes:

1. Onboarding questionnaire. Every new supplier confirms its ownership, workforce size, use of contract labour and recruitment practices, and provides its registrations and certifications.
2. Document review. We check licences, wage records, age records and, where applicable, audit reports from recognised schemes. A certificate is evidence of a standard at a point in time, not a substitute for checking.
3. Site visits. Where we visit a factory or workshop, we look at working areas, accommodation where present, notice boards and records, and we speak to workers away from management where it is safe to do so.
4. Third-party audits. For higher-risk categories we ask for a recent social audit and, where the order justifies it, commission an independent assessment.
5. Annual re-check. Existing suppliers confirm their position each year and are re-assessed against the risk of their category and country.

6. If we find a problem

Where a concern is substantiated, we suspend new orders while it is investigated. Depending on the finding, we require a written remediation plan with dates, arrange worker repayment of recruitment fees, or end the relationship. Where a worker is at immediate risk, we prioritise their safety over the order. We do not treat ending a contract as the default remedy, because abrupt withdrawal can leave workers worse off; our first aim is to fix the condition and verify the fix.

7. Training and responsibility

The sourcing team is briefed on the indicators of forced and child labour, on recruitment-fee risk in Indian labour markets, and on how to record a concern. Responsibility for this statement sits with the management of Runway Merchants LLP. Buyer-side compliance teams may request our supplier due diligence records under a confidentiality agreement.

8. Raising a concern

Workers, suppliers, buyers and others can raise a concern in confidence by writing to trade@runwaymerchants.com. Include as much detail as you can, including the site and the dates. We acknowledge concerns within five working days and report the outcome to the person who raised it, where that is possible without exposing them to risk. We do not retaliate against anyone who raises a concern in good faith.

9. Approval and review

This statement is approved by the management of Runway Merchants LLP and reviewed annually. The next review is due in October 2027. We will publish a revised statement if our supply base or practices change materially before then.