1. Could you tell us more about your role?

Currently, my role as Manager of Vendor Compliance and Sustainability can be separated into several parts:

Internally, I work closely with our stakeholders including those in Sourcing, Sales, and Quality Assurance, to ensure the factories we work with are guidelines approved suppliers. It is also important to check that these partners can comply with the requirements of Meiyume and the brands we work with. In addition, I also provide support to our sales teams to help make decisions on choosing the right suppliers for our customers.

Externally, my team and I give orientation to factories on COC (Code of Conduct), different customer requirements, industry standards, and ensure that we can work together to help them continually improve. At the same time, we have meetings with our customers regularly to review the performance of the factories, and mutually exchange ideas on compliance and sustainability. Collaboration is key!

2. What are the different challenges you face in compliance across regions?

As different countries and regions have different cultures, laws, and regulations, one of the challenges we face is navigating between adhering to these requirements and making sure that they also comply with the Meiyume standards. Sometimes, it can be difficult to gather information in time to get the full picture to make decisions. As such, we may leverage on our Fung Group Vendor Compliance and Sustainability global teams for their expertise. For example, if there are concerns for a factory in Thailand, we can ask the colleagues in Thailand for their guidance.

Another challenge we see is that the overall CSR awareness of many factories are slow to increase, which can affect their performance improvement rate. As part of Meiyume’s commitment to building towards an ethical and sustainable supply chain, as well as the principles promoted by Fair Trade, we advocate for fair pay, equal treatment, and safe working conditions in our everyday operations and with the producers and partners we work with. One of the most meaningful things we do in order to enable mutual growth and improvement is that we provide orientation and trainings for all the factories we work with. We also regularly audit our suppliers and meet with their top management to discuss any high-risk issues. Our “Factory Continual Improvement” project is something we pride ourselves on!

3. How have you seen the priorities in compliance shift over the years?

I’m really glad to say that in the past decade, you can see that brands have really shifted from focusing only on compliance to putting more emphasis into sustainability development. These brands have developed many projects and initiatives to provide more equal opportunities for underserved groups.

For example, L’Oreal launched the SOLSO project to encourage factories to hire a more diverse work force, including giving opportunities to people with disabilities or those in older age groups. Some developing countries, such as China, are also seeing an increase in awareness on sustainability, as they take measures to enhance the management of environmental policies. Meanwhile, there are also a multitude of NGOs involved in examining the levels of environmental pollution and bringing areas of improvement and non-compliance to light.

4. Tell us more about your beauty/skincare routine! What are some products you can’t live without?

Good question! Although I don’t normally use a lot of colour cosmetics, having a basic skincare routine is still a must for me. Usually, my routine starts with washing my face with a face wash. Then I would apply toner, lotion, and eye cream. For the skincare portion, cream is the most important for me because it helps to keep my skin moisturized and hydrated. Then, if I want to apply makeup, I usually wait 3 minutes after I finish my skincare routine before I put on a primer.

The must-have makeup product for me would be lipstick! I take one with me wherever I go because it is the one product that I know I can depend on to instantly brighten up the face.