Located in Barcelos, along a traditional pilgrimage route outside of Porto, is AHD Textil - where our jersey styles are made. Surrounded by green hills, in an area famous for its market and its food - it’s no wonder the AKYN team love to visit! We work closely with co-owner Paula, who is passionate about sustainability and believes strongly in our ethos. They are currently in the process of getting planning permission for solar power.

To make our jersey styles, AHD Textil works with a local fabric supplier, Familitex, keeping the production footprint small.

Number of Employees: 10

Audits & Certifications: GOTS renewal in progress

Serant Unipessoal is a small, family-run manufacturer in Portugal that has become an extension of the AKYN team. It is run by Raquel and her husband, who work closely with their team of machinists on small scale production. Raquel welcomes the AKYN team to Portugal each season to work together on the production and quality control of our collections.

Number of Employees: 2

Audits & Certifications: As a small, family-run atelier, an official audit is not financially viable (it costs manufacturers a lot of money to be audited). However, we visit both the cutting and sewing facilities on a regular basis.

We currently produce our knitwear in a really small unit in China, which sources its yarn from UPW mill. 

Number of Employees: 87

Audits & Certifications: Amfori social audit

Our jeans and some of our tailoring and jackets are manufactured by Tailertex – a small, family-run garment manufacturer in northern Portugal that we visit and speak to regularly.

Number of Employees: 20

Audits & Certifications: ISO 9001, SMETA due May 2025

We work very closely with our partner mills to try and trace back to the origin of the raw material itself, and always request certificates of origin. 

The wool felt for our coating comes from Burel Factory, a Portuguese mill born in the mountains of Serra da Estrela, dedicated to the preservation and regeneration of its cultural and industrial heritage, and knowledge of the wool industry that spans generations. Working with local shepherds, Burel wool comes from sheep that graze the Serra da Estrela mountains, meaning that the process from yarn to finished fabric all happens within the same small region.

Some of the wool we buy is the natural colour of the sheep.

Paulo de Oliveira, situated on the hillside of the highest mountain in Portugal, Serra da Estrela, supplies our tailoring wool (from their own sheep), TENCEL™ and European flax from Portugal. 

The mill is vertically integrated, which means that spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing all takes place under one roof – although a lot of our fabrics are undyed.

Familitex is our jersey supplier in Portugal, supplying us with GOTS-certified organic cotton.

Soktas is a vertical cotton mill in Turkey specialising in regenerative farming, supplying our regenerative cotton shirting. Soktas invests in energy and water conservation, and upholds high ethical standards.

Calik is our denim supplier in Turkey, supplying recycled, regenerative and GOTS-certified cotton denim.

TENCEL™ Lyocell supplier with whom we verify all our TENCEL™ purchases. Lenzing’s fibers are made from natural wood. They are botanic products derived from renewable sources and processed with unique resource-conserving technologies.

UPW is our RWS-yarn supplier, which is all dyed and spun at its own facilities in Dongguan, China.

UPW aims to provide a transparent supply chain, and supplies certified responsible animal fibres and recycled yarns traced back as far as the collection and recycling processes. 

Founded in 2002 in Turkey, Motif is our supplier for woven TENCEL™ Lyocell.

At AKYN, we care deeply about the lives and livelihoods of the makers who produce our garments and are committed to operating an ethical and transparent business. We do everything we can to ensure our work does not negatively impact the planet or the communities we work with.

We aim to build long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with companies across our supply chain, working with organisations that share our values and aspiration to drive positive change within the fashion industry. These relationships are built on trust, transparency and mutual respect.

All our trusted partners and suppliers must commit in writing to the following code of conduct to do business with AKYN. This code is based on the core conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and outlines the minimal level of standards we expect. Together, we hope that we can exceed these expectations.

Modern Slavery / Forced Labour
All work must be carried out at the worker’s free will, and suppliers shall confirm that there is no use of forced or involuntary labour, including prison labour, indentured labour, bonded labour and any other forms of forced labour of modern slavery.

Forced labour in any form, subtle or overt, direct, or indirect is not acceptable. Employees must be free to leave the employer, following a reasonable given notice period.

We expect our Suppliers to establish systems for identifying and preventing human trafficking particularly among migrant workers and women throughout their supply chain.

Child Labour
Suppliers will ensure that no person under the age of 15 is employed. In cases where local legislation stipulates a higher minimum age, this higher limit will apply. No young workers, between the ages of 16-18 shall work during night hours or in any hazardous conditions.

Working Hours
Regular working hours must not exceed the hours allowed by law of the country where the workers are employed, or 48 hours in the week.

Adequate and regular breaks must be provided and encouraged, and all workers must be given at least one day off in seven days.

All overtime will be voluntary, consensual and compensated fairly.

Freedom Of Association & Collective Bargaining
Suppliers shall respect workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Workers shall have the right to establish and join collectives and organisations and any such collective organisation shall have the right to affiliate with international organisations of workers without fear of harassment or reprisals.

Discrimination
Suppliers shall not discriminate against any workers based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, nationality, marital status, disability, union membership or political affiliation or any other reason. Suppliers must show equal opportunities, in relation to treatment, pay, promotion and benefits between female and male employees. 

Environment
Suppliers are expected to apply responsible measures ensuring that they comply with all local environmental regulations and there shall be no release of hazardous materials or toxic substances.

All local laws relating to the management of water and the management of wastewater shall be adhered to.

Health & Safety
Suppliers will provide a safe and healthy workplace for all employees and ensure that adequate steps to prevent accidents and injuries are in place. Health and Safety training will be given to all employees upon commencement and at regular intervals. 

Wages and Benefits
Suppliers must give all employees clear, written information about their wages, benefits, and terms of employment before they start work. Each time they are paid, employees must receive a breakdown of their pay, including how it was calculated. This information must also be provided in their native language when needed.

We will only work with suppliers who follow local laws on wages and benefits and ensure workers receive everything they are legally entitled to.

Withholding wages as a form of punishment is not allowed.

 
Commitment to a Living Wage
We would like to see all those who manufacture our garments on an hourly rate that meets or exceeds the local living wage.

Animal Welfare
We believe animals should always be treated with care and respect. As wool is one of the priority natural materials we use, ensuring the wellbeing of the sheep it comes from is very important to us. We expect our suppliers to help us uphold high animal welfare standards by only using wool that is mulesing-free, Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified, or certified as recycled in our collections.