Moving away from the norm of the business community of providing donations that fail to sustain and uplift the living standards of its beneficiaries, Hayleys has directly tied its CSR initiatives to the company supply chain that link the communities. “Firstlight” is one such initiatives undertaken by the company that continue to prosper the “People” who are involved , while providing sustainable “Profit” to all the stake holders, without compromising the fragile eco systems of our beloved “Planet”.
This unique initiative of Dipped Products PLC, (the rubber glove manufacturing division of Hayleys), integrates sustainable sourcing with CSR programmes for rubber smallholders of Sri Lanka. A home-grown sourcing initiative rooted in empowering smallholder rubber farmers has resulted in DPL, giving the world its first ‘Fair Trade’ rubber gloves.
Firstlight symbolizes the dawn of a new day; the best time for tapping rubber trees. Dawn is a symbol of birth and reawakening, bringing hope for happiness and improvement. The Firstlight initiative reflects DPL’s commitment towards business sustainability in which economic, environmental, and social factors are integrated so as to empower smallholder rubber farmers to achieve their full potential and make the transition to a brighter future.
Its principal components were to guarantee farmers:
- A Fair Price for Field Latex
- Education and Empowerment to Maximize Income
- Implementation and Input of Material to Protect and Augment Crop
- Sustainability of Rubber Properties and Preservation of Forest Cover
- Community Capacity Building
For further information, Download Project Report
