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Social Compliance


On a worldwide basis, TJX has about 1,100 Associates in its buying organization who source merchandise from a universe of more than 21,000 vendors located in over 100 countries. We strongly value our vendor relationships as we believe they have been a key factor in our long-term success. While the majority of product we sell in our stores and online is brand name merchandise obtained in many ways, some merchandise is also designed by our own fashion and style experts and manufactured just for us. We focus our social compliance efforts in this area as it is where we believe we can have more meaningful impact.

Our philosophy towards social compliance mirrors our culture, and just as we are committed to honesty, integrity, and treating others with dignity and respect, we expect those that we do business with to do the same. Our Social Compliance Program is inspired by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and our commitment to these principles is reflected in our Vendor Code of Conduct and our responsible sourcing initiatives.

Our social compliance efforts are led by the Assistant Vice President, Global Social Compliance, reporting directly to our Senior Vice President, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, who periodically reports on social compliance topics to the Board of Directors. However, responsibility for social compliance spans our organization, with our international buying offices and merchants also playing key roles in achieving our goals.

Key components of our Social Compliance Program:

  • As part of our purchase terms, merchandise vendors are required to adhere to our Vendor Code of Conduct.
  • We require regularly scheduled audits of factories manufacturing product we develop.
  • We offer training sessions on a regular basis to educate our buying agents, vendors, and factory management on our expectations with regard to social compliance and to reiterate our seriousness of purpose.
  • Associates involved in the development and buying of merchandise also undergo formal social compliance training.
  • Approximately 750 facilities were audited directly by TJX and its approved auditors in 2018.
  • More than 1,300 audits were accepted from accredited sources1 in 2018.
  • Members of our buying offices visit almost all of their respective factories in which we expect to produce goods.
  • Buyers are required to complete social compliance training on a biennial basis.


TJX's Vendor Social Compliance Committee is composed of management representatives from the U.S., Canada, and Europe and from relevant disciplines within TJX, including merchandising, sourcing, imports, compliance, enterprise risk management, legal, and global communications.



1Amfori’s Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), and Sedex Information Exchange Limited (SEDEX)