Our People
Our people are what make the Joanie world go round! We employ a small but mighty team of vibrant, passionate, and committed individuals at our HQ in Manchester. We all care about each other, the wider team of Joanie partners, and the human rights of every individual involved in the Joanie supply chain. We pride ourselves on making clothes that do not compromise the people that make them or the wider environment.
The welfare of all of our co-workers is very important to the stability and growth of our business, and we never lose sight of this. We actively encourage diversity and equal opportunities within our team and in the partners that we work with. We aim to build on our current team to create a happy, diverse, and non-hierarchical business in which every individual can feel both heard and valued. We believe that every team member has a valid contribution to make in the growth, development, and sustainable endeavours of the Joanie brand.
As a small and loyal team, we very occasionally have vacancies for like-minded, passionate people who share our values. We often work with students from schools, colleges and universities, to help them gain life and industry experience. Some of them even came back to work here once they qualified. We're friendly, ask if we can help you! Please send your CV to: [email protected].
The Living Wage
Joanie Ltd is a ‘Living Wage’ employer, which means that we have committed to paying all our employees a wage that meets the cost of living, not just the government minimum. The real Living Wage rates we pay are higher because they are independently calculated based on what people need to get by. For more information on the UK Living Wage, please visit the Living Wage Foundation website.
In addition to our small team of employees, we work alongside and purchase our clothing through our supply chain partners around the world. We currently request that all our suppliers commit to our principles, undergo a stringent auditing process, and sign our Code of Conduct, which you can read more about here.
While we ask our suppliers to sign this to ensure that our factories pay their workers the Living Wage payment, we don’t currently hold the power to enforce this. Our current audit process reviews labour standards, health and safety, environmental impact, and business ethics against best practice industry standards and makes recommendations for necessary improvements that ensure that our garments are made in the best possible conditions and all workers are treated and paid fairly - but we want to do more.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement
Here at Joanie, we have a zero-tolerance approach to workplace discrimination. We believe that everyone should have equal access to work and opportunity to reach their potential. We celebrate individuality and authenticity and do not discriminate on the grounds of colour, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability. We are committed to diversity and inclusion, from the people we hire to the models that we work with.
We stand against racism in any form, and its effects, including inequality of opportunity. We have built our people strategy on the principles of trust, equality, fairness, and inclusion. We believe that it is the responsibility of everyone at Joanie to uphold these principles.
Ecologi: Climate Positive Workforce
We are a Climate Positive Workforce and are signed up with Ecologi to offset all our business and personal travel by growing our own company forest! We’ve recently celebrated 36 months of climate positive impact, planting over 9000 trees so far. You can see our up-to-date tree count here!
Charity Work and Fundraising
Helping to support worthy causes and charities that are close to our hearts is incredibly important to us. At any given time, Joanie is committed to supporting at least one charitable organisation through clothing donations and our collaboration styles.
We donate any faulty garments that are returned to us to New Life, the UK's largest charitable provider of specialist equipment for disabled children. These faulty garments are repaired and sold to raise money for the charity, and since 2017, we have donated over 221 boxes of clothing. Over the past 12 months, our donations have funded 10898 helpline calls, 404 emergency equipment loans, 1110 equipment grants, and 1380 play therapy pods.
We often raise funds through our collaboration styles, donating a portion of each sale to a nominated charity. In 2020 and 2021, Joanie worked with three charities, The Girls Network, Age UK, and Dogs Trust. We developed two T-shirts in aid of The Girls’ Network: our Lada Girls Club Slogan Tee in 2020, and our Gloria Girl Power Tee in 2021, raising over £7300 to go towards inspiring and empowering young women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In 2020, we worked with Age UK to raise over £500 through the sales of our Nanette Bingo Tee. These funds helped to support vulnerable older people, providing information, advice, and community support to those who need it most. We selected Dogs Trust as another nominated charity in 2020 and 2021, raising over £4800 through the sales of our Canine Dog Illustration Tee.
In 2021 we launched our first piece of charity knitwear in collaboration with the Pankhurst Centre, a wonderful women’s charity close to our brand’s heart. Over the course of the year, we raised over £1500 through the sales of our Emmeline Women Power Jumper to go towards the launch of a new exhibition, as well as essential repairs to the Pankhurst Centre, the only museum in the UK dedicated to women’s fight for the right to vote.
In 2022, we worked with MindOut, an organisation run by and for members of the LGBTQ+ offering mental health support online and in person, to raise £5720 through sales of our Bungle Jumper. We also fundraised for Hey Girls, a social enterprise working to eradicate period poverty in the UK, raising a total of £2940 through sales of our pink cord Mercer and Bleecker styles.
We participated in Giving Tuesday for the first time in 2022, fundraising for Spread a Smile, a charity that brings joy and laughter to seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families during long hospital stays. Our lovely Joanie Gals raised £661.46 for Spread a Smile, an incredible amount that we're proud to say we matched, taking the total amount we donated to £1322.92.
We also raised £630 in 2022 for Smart Works Greater Manchester, a charity that provides women with coaching services and clothing to help them feel more confident on their journey toward employment. We’ll be continuing to raise funds for Smart Works Greater Manchester this year by donating £5 from the sale of every Carly Coral Heart Print Dress and Fiona Coral Heart Print Blouse to the charity.
We’re also teaming up with refugee charity Choose Love this year on two brand-new slogan knits. The Aphrodite Jumper is available in two colourways, and we have committed to a minimum donation of £50,000, with 100% of the profits being donated to Choose Love. We are proud to support Choose Love in their efforts to elevate the voices and visibility of refugees around the world, helping them provide vital help for people in the most desperate situations.
