The promotional products industry's uncomfortable question:

Do we want to make money
or do the right thing?

Part 2/3

“What is morally right? The reality becomes clear in the factories.”

For AD company, sustainability work did not begin with trends, but with first-hand insight.

Jan Hedenborn, CEO of AD company, previously lived and travelled extensively in Asia during his career, working with issues related to working conditions. During his time as a Business Area Manager at Ikano – part of Ingvar Kamprad's business group – he saw first-hand how factories actually operated. And what happened when things went wrong. These experiences shaped his view of responsibility.

“At its heart, it's a question of morality. People deserve to be treated with respect, and products should be manufactured under fair working conditions, without taking shortcuts,” says Jan Hedenborn.

As early as 2003–2004, AD company's customers began asking questions about CSR and supplier responsibility. Child labour was a recurring topic in the media at the time, and customers wanted reassurance that it was not occurring in their supply chains.

“We have never encountered child labour. But when we began looking more closely at actual conditions in the factories, while also setting clear requirements for our suppliers, we gained significantly better insight into and control over the supply chain. It's easy to say you're committed to sustainability – but how many have actually visited the factories themselves?

For us, it's about maintaining as much control as possible over the entire process, rather than relying solely on an intermediary who simply handles imports into Sweden,” says Jan.

Independent social audits are complemented by our own factory visits. For almost 15 years, AD company has also had a dedicated Quality and CSR Manager who closely monitors this work.

Early on, we developed our own CSR brochure, including a Code of Conduct and a clear description of our audit procedures. The material was also translated into Chinese to reach the entire organisation, not just management. This became an important foundation for continued dialogue about our requirements and expectations. The goal is not to achieve a perfect score, but to drive continuous improvement.

“When a factory receives an unexpectedly high audit score, we actually become more cautious and carry out additional spot checks,” explains Camilla Green, who reviews the audit reports.

In autumn 2025, we began stocking umbrellas manufactured without intentionally added PFAS. This was the result of several years of development work together with factories and subcontractors.

“We work with a chemical consultant who is highly skilled at staying one step ahead, conducting risk assessments and identifying which substances are relevant to analyse in our tests,” says Jan Hedenborn, acknowledging that laboratory testing requires both time and money.

“We have said that we want to be a learning organisation that contributes to raising standards. It can be costly at times, but it's the path we have chosen.”

“Products that other companies put their brands on must meet the required standards,” says Jan Hedenborn.

Don't miss the final part, 3/3: “The market and the people will decide, but in the long run, sustainability will prevail.”