California law requires companies of a certain size to publicly disclose the steps they are taking to identify and eradicate forced labor in their supply chains. Maurices Incorporated (“maurices”) aligns with the intent of the legislation, and we are pleased to share our continuous work towards sourcing products free of slavery and human trafficking.

At maurices, we understand that both our associates, and our customers, genuinely care about the conditions under which our products are manufactured. It is important to us, and to our customers, that materials used in our products are obtained through ethical labor conditions. Our Code of Conduct for Merchandise Suppliers ("Code of Conduct") provides suppliers with our expectations for responsible manufacturing standards. We only align ourselves with suppliers who share this commitment. Our Code of Conduct clearly states that our suppliers must not use involuntary or forced labor, whether indentured, bonded, prison, or labor obtained through slavery and human trafficking.

We are taking the following actions to mitigate the risks of human trafficking and slavery in our direct product supply chain:

1. VERIFICATION OF PRODUCT SUPPLY CHAINS: maurices has a robust on-going risk assessment program conducted by a third-party. When considering new sourcing countries, we follow a strict approval process involving multiple departments and based on various criteria, including social compliance risks. Additionally, all new private label factories must be reviewed by the team for social compliance before production may begin. Our strategic vendor partners with the Better Work Program, a collaborative factory monitoring initiative led by the International Labour Organization (ILO). They utilize audits conducted by the Better Work inspectors to assess factory compliance in key manufacturing countries where the program is active.

2. AUDITING: We regularly conduct independent, unannounced and semi-unannounced audits using third party service providers focused on compliance with our Code of Conduct for responsible sourcing. We survey our suppliers to assess their use of migrant and foreign contract workers. Our service providers follow procedures to identify non-compliance issues found specifically within these classes of workers, such as hiring process issues and access to grievance systems. An important aspect of the auditing process is worker interviews, conducted both on-site and off-site. Whenever serious issues are found, suppliers are expected to engage in remediation and training which includes a corrective action plan and a series of e-learning modules specifically designed to address the risk in their supply chain. In addition, we apply a rating system that provides guidance to sourcing, assisting them in placing business with suppliers that achieve favorable compliance scores and potentially reducing business for poor performers. We have terminated, and will terminate, factories with significant issues when there is insufficient evidence of improvement.

3. SUPPLIER CERTIFICATION: All Vendors are bound by contract, and do represent and warrant in our agreement, to abide by all applicable employment and human rights laws, as well as our Code of Conduct, which, among other things, prohibits the use of child labor and forced or involuntary labor, forced overtime, discrimination, or bonded or prison labor. Our Code of Conduct emphasizes the importance of well-treated, fairly compensated workers. Our responsibility program seeks to promote the maintenance of these standards in our manufacturing facilities and assesses compliance with our Code of Conduct.

4. MAINTENANCE OF INTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES: Our Code of Business Conduct, distinct from the Code of Conduct of Merchandise Suppliers, is a guideline for ethical business conduct and how we do business. This code is a summary of basic principles for working in a way that reflects our commitment to ethics and integrity. Associates are trained and encouraged to report concerns via several avenues, including through a dedicated employee hotline, through email, as well as to various business leaders. We do not tolerate any form of retaliation against employees who raise good faith concerns about any aspect of their work environment or another’s conduct.