At TJX, our business dealings and interactions are grounded in our long-held core values of honesty, integrity, and treating others with dignity and respect. This includes respect for the human rights of the workers producing the products that we offer for sale to our customers. We hold ourselves to high ethical standards, and we expect respect for human rights to be taken seriously by stakeholders throughout our global operations and supply chain.

Human Rights In Our Operations

TJX—including our divisions worldwide—is committed to conducting business in compliance with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and Company policies. In our own operations, we strive to lead by example to help support a workplace for our Associates that fosters open and honest communication and encourages different perspectives, ideas, and opinions.

We support the rights of Associates in our global operations through a number of initiatives:

Global Code of Conduct

• We expect all of our Associates, including full-time, part-time, and seasonal Associates, to comply with our high ethical standards, which are set forth in the TJX Global Code of Conduct. The Global Code of Conduct, which is communicated to all Associates and available in more than 20 languages, outlines our commitment to acting with the highest levels of integrity and conducting business in compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, as well as Company policies. Some examples of topics covered in the Global Code of Conduct include our commitment to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified applicants and Associates and following applicable wage and hour laws and regulations.

Inclusion and Diversity

• We are committed to continuing to build a more inclusive and diverse workplace. Inclusion and diversity have been an important part of who we are for many years. We view diversity as inclusive of many facets—race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, experience, religion, perspectives, and more—and we believe that a diverse workforce can help us to think creatively, remain agile, and, importantly, be true to our values.

• We strive to treat all people with dignity and respect and do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. These expectations are reinforced to all Associates in our Global Code of Conduct.

• As part of our efforts, we have enhanced our Global Leadership Curriculum to provide our leaders with tools designed to champion inclusion. In addition to providing tools to support their own learning, we are also equipping managers with resources to help them engage in dialogue with their teams.

• Our inclusion and diversity journey is guided by three global priorities. More information about our priorities can be found on the Inclusion & Diversity page of this website.

Open Door Philosophy

• Our decades-long, open door philosophy supports our efforts to foster an inclusive workplace where Associates feel welcome when they walk in the door; valued for their diversity of thought, background, and experience; and engaged with our mission to deliver great value to our customers every day. Associates are encouraged to bring ideas forward, ask questions, voice concerns, and report any possible violations.

• In addition to encouraging our open door philosophy, Associates around the world can report concerns or violations of the Global Code of Conduct 24/7 through the TJX Helpline, either online or by phone, anonymously. Associates are made aware of the TJX Helpline, which is available in multiple languages, as part of their orientation and through trainings during their career with us. TJX will not tolerate retaliation or victimization for making good-faith reports or for participating in an investigation or proceeding relating to a complaint.

Human Rights In Our Supply Chain

Outside of our own operations, we reinforce our expectations of respect for the human rights of workers producing the products that we offer for sale to our customers. We expect high ethical standards from anyone with whom we do business. We expect all merchandise vendors and any factories or subcontractors they use in support of TJX orders to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

We support the rights of workers in our supply chain through a number of initiatives:

Global Social Compliance Program

• Our Vendor Code of Conduct serves as the foundation for our Global Social Compliance Program. Our Vendor Code includes our expectations on child and forced labor, ethical business standards, wages and benefits, environmental expectations, and more. As the Vendor Code has evolved over the years, we have reviewed and taken inspiration from the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
• Our purchase order terms and conditions include a requirement for merchandise vendors to comply with our Vendor Code of Conduct, including any factories or subcontractors they use.
• The TJX Helpline, mentioned above, is also available to external stakeholders to report suspected violations of our policies and standards. Suspected violations and concerns can be reported anonymously without fear of retaliation. We publish information about the Helpline in a variety of places, including the Vendor Code of Conduct, which is available on TJX.com and on our vendor website.

Factory Auditing

• Our factory auditing generally focuses on where we have more influence in bringing products to market. We take this approach because it is where we believe we are most likely to have a meaningful impact as we typically have direct or indirect relationships with the factories.

• An outline of our factory auditing process can be found in the Global Social Compliance section of this website, including our corrective action and remediation process. When critical violations of our Vendor Code of Conduct are identified through our factory auditing program, we require our vendor to immediately terminate the use of that factory for any product manufactured for us. Critical violations include infractions such as bribery/corruption; child labor, forced or slave labor, and prison labor; human trafficking; maintaining a facility with all doors and/or exits locked; use of chemicals banned in the region; and failure to pay wages.

Training

• We offer training sessions on a regular basis to buying agents, vendors, and factory management within our factory auditing program on our expectations with regard to social compliance, and we strongly encourage all new factories in our factory auditing program to participate in such training. These trainings are typically held in multiple locations around the world every year.
• TJX Associates involved in the buying and/or development of merchandise are expected to undergo formal social compliance training biennially. This training includes information on topics related to human rights.

Stakeholder Engagement

• We strongly believe that for our efforts to be effective, they must evolve and be informed by the perspectives of our many stakeholders, including our Associates, customers, investors, and others. Therefore, we strive to maintain an open dialogue with these important groups as we strive for continuous improvement in our programs and reporting.

In addition, we believe that engaging with various audiences, including a variety of industry associations, and considering their guidance helps inform program enhancements.