Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
As part of our commitment to being a business for good, we're working towards 10 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Today, we’re diving into Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.
What are the Sustainable Development Goals?
The Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) are a set of environmental and social areas of focus set out by the United Nations General Assembly, 7 years ago in 2015. There are 17 goals in total, which focus on everything from inequality to education, climate action to peace and justice and are intended to be achieved by 2030.
Which Goals are Y.O.U Focusing on?
Last year, we delved into 5 SDGs which you can read more about here.
When measuring our Q1 Impact, we assessed our alignment and performance towards the SDGs using B Lab's SDG Action Manager framework. We have a baseline score of 67.2% and scored 50% on Goal 4, Goal 5, Goal 6 and Goal 12. We were pleasantly surprised to score 50% on three goals we hadn’t yet considered, one of them being Goal 10, the focus of today’s blog!
We have since identified a further 3 goals that align with us - No Poverty, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Climate Action - and are aiming to reach a score of > 50% in those by the end of 2022.
What is Sustainable Development Goal 10?
Goal 10 is: Reduce inequality within and among countries.
Period poverty is a huge obstacle to achieving gender equality. In some communities it is estimated that 1 in 10 girls miss school on their periods due to a lack of underwear and sanitary products. Without proper period protection, they’re left with no choice but to miss school – up to 12 weeks a year! This translates into a considerable divergence in educational progress and access to opportunities.
The fashion industry is similarly rife with inequality, with pay disparity and wage theft trapping global garment workers in a cycle of poverty. Gender-based violence and harassment is also commonplace in clothing factories.
At Y.O.U, we’re looking to dismantle these barriers by improving access to underwear, and ensuring makers in our supply chain are paid fairly and treated equally.
What is Y.O.U Doing to Support Goal 10?
Our underwear is sold on a buy one give two promise which means that we donate 2 pairs of underwear for every one sold. We’re so close to meeting our goal of donating 23,000 pairs by 2023! We work with the charity Smalls For All to distribute underwear to vulnerable women and girls across Africa. We also donate 10% off the proceeds from the sale of our face masks to support the amazing work Smalls for All do - more on that here.
As well as supporting women and girls through donations, we work with India's leading ethical and sustainable manufacturer to ensure that nobody is exploited in our supply chain. Our manufacturer operates under SA8000 certified social standards, and have a number of extra initiatives of their own, such as free transport and funding for their children’s education. When you buy Y.O.U undies, you can be sure that the person making your clothes is treated well.
Written by Melissa Watt
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