Planet

Our ambition is to focus on the processes where we can make the greatest impact on environmental sustainability. It is in the production phase we leave our biggest ecological footprint. Our goal is to reduce our carbon footprint by sourcing more sustainable materials, reducing our waste to a minimum and making our production more efficient. We are currently upgrading a modern wastewater treatment plant at our factory in North Macedonia. By upgrading this we can recycle a part of our process water and partly reuse water and minimize our water consumption. We have been plastic free for many years, and we choose our packages and labels with great care. Our transports are always fully loaded, and we optimize the space in all our packages that we send.

Animal welfare is as important to us as the quality of an approved Shepherd product. Therefore, we require our suppliers to maintain and follow our Shepherd Code of Animal Treatment, “The animals must be able to walk freely and be in an environment that is natural for them. They must be continuously supervised and cared for to promote animal health. The animals will of course always have good access to food and water. We do not allow any breeder to make use of mulesing and we do not permit animals to be transported by boat.”

To ensure that this is maintained, we visit all our breeders continuously. When you buy a Shepherd product, you know it has been created with care.

Product

An important aspect to sustainability is product longevity. Therefore, we design our products and choose the materials with great care.

We buy our sheep-and lambskin from countries such as Australia, New Zeeland, England, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. The leather we use is a by-product from the meat industry, which would otherwise be discarded. We then select skins for our sheepskin and wool production based on the criteria including wool density, wool structure, and leather quality. We only cooperate with suppliers that we trust and have good relations with. This minimizes the risk of a quality that does not meet our requirements.

Prosperity

Our vision is to continue developing as a company and as a brand. A strong business community creates growth, which finances expanded welfare systems and contributes to increased equality. Financial prosperity for us means that we can invest in, and work for, a more responsible and sustainable production and industry.

Our aim is to preserve the old handcraft tradition while making the production more efficient. The goal is to streamline production by replacing certain steps that are done by hand with more modern machines to favour more ergonomics solutions. We will never lose the touch of intuition, feel, and carefulness that comes with our skilled craftsmen and workers.

People

We have a responsibility to ensure the welfare of people, now and in the future. Our products are manufactured without being harmful to people or the environment and comply with current rules and regulations in all our markets.

We also take responsibility for our relationships and partnerships at all levels. We are a Swedish company located in Svenljunga and we have long term relationships with all our suppliers. This creates trust and knowledge of the people around us. Shepherd is a guest in each of the countries in which we operate and shall respect the culture of the country. Most of our products are manufactured in our factory in North Macedonia, which we visit on a regular basis. Our customers should be confident that every Shepherd product is made under good working conditions. Therefore, we have established Shepherd Code of Conduct, which is based on the ILO conventions, and we only do business with suppliers who agree to follow this.