The Business
Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS) is at the forefront of a clothing rental revolution and is recognized as an emerging social innovator. Through their use of cutting-edge technology and agile, ethical and sustainable processes, they are pioneering a shift towards environmentally friendly fashion alternatives.
The business has grown exponentially in the 25 years since starting up and provides formalwear and dress rental services to hundreds of independent stores and retail chains across the UK and Ireland. From their Eurocentral facility, ACS has become Europe’s largest rental and resale fulfilment centre and provides around 80% of menswear outfits rented for functions in the UK.
Values & Principles
The fashion industry is a huge contributor to world pollution, with 85% of textiles ending up in landfill every year, while workers and communities around the world are exploited to satisfy the demand for ‘fast fashion’. ACS is proud to offer a sustainable alternative to ‘fast fashion’ and has developed an infrastructure that empowers the circular fashion economy, winning a number of environmental awards, such as the Scottish Environment Business Award, along the way.
The company strongly believes its staff are its biggest asset and has gone beyond paying the real Living Wage and have developed a socially accountable dimension to their business that transforms local social challenges to business opportunities.
As well as paying at least the real Living Wage to staff, no matter their age, ACS actively seek those most disadvantaged in society and offer them real employment opportunities. In addition to creating a diverse workforce, ACS is building deeper community bonds with their local community allowing people to access and progress in work in a continuous personal development environment
Living Wage Accreditation
ACS has always recognised the value of its staff and, as the business has grown, have invested heavily in training and development, even setting up its own academy to offer vocational qualifications in logistics and textile care.
ACS decided to make a commitment to the Scottish Business Pledge, a values-led partnership between government and business that is based on boosting productivity and competitiveness through fairness, equality and sustainable employment. Paying the real Living Wage is a core requirement of the Pledge, and ACS confirmed this commitment by becoming Living Wage Accredited in 2020.
ACS Chief Operating Officer Anthony Burns says: “We recognised that staff are our biggest and best asset and we wanted to make them feel valued. For many years through staff and employee engagement schemes, pay was one of the things that was always raised. So, saying we pay at least the real Living Wage is one of the biggest ticket items we could do. From conversations with employees, they recognise we are trying to make a real difference for them. If all employers did the same thing, then maybe we wouldn’t have the same levels of poverty in society. The real Living Wage should be the baseline, the starting point for all good corporate citizens.”
Living Hours Accreditation
In line with their culture of fair and supportive working practices, ACS took the decision to become Living Hours accredited in 2022, adding another level of job security.
The Living Hours accreditation requires employers to both pay the real Living Wage and commit to provide at least four weeks’ notice for every shift, with guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within this notice period.
Living Hours employers also provide a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours every week (unless the worker requests otherwise), and a contract that accurately reflects hours worked.
ACS Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Burns says: “I encourage my team to actively seek new social practices, such as Living Hours, that aim to meet social needs in a better way than the existing solutions. Tackling insecurity over working hours in any civilised society is fundamental in my belief. Providing our staff and their families with stability and security to me is a basic human right. In my experience initiatives such as Living Hours helps organisations reduce staff turnover, attract new talent and increase productivity. I never considered this a nice to do CSR initiative but a real business investment.”
The Benefits
In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, some families are having to make decisions over whether to heat or eat – this is unacceptable to ACS. Guaranteeing payment of the real Living Wage delivers a happier, more productive workforce and ensuring security of hours allows them to budget more effectively and have more control over their lives. Both measures allow people to look beyond short-term decision-making and provide families the breathing space to pursue long-term goals.
As well as earning enough to live on, the quality of the working environment, working-time arrangements and workplace relationships have a positive impact on staff. ACS believe effective employee engagement is a crucial component of improving performance, driving efficiency, reducing sickness absence and enriching employees’ experiences of work.
Their 2020 Staff Engagement Survey made it clear that this approach is working, with 81% of staff rating their employment with the company as Excellent/Good – a 2% increase from the previous year’s survey. Most respondents strongly felt that they continued to make an impact on the company in their job roles. An improvement in the ‘rewards and recognition’ section, for the first time since the survey started, was attributed to ACS embracing the real Living Wage.
ACS operative Arek Postolski, who is working towards a diploma in leadership, adds: “I now feel very confident when it comes to my day-to-day finances. That is the biggest benefit of being paid the real Living Wage. It gives me stability and peace of mind. I feel very proud that I now work for a Living Wage accredited business. I really feel like I am part of the company and I hope to be an even bigger asset for them in the future.”
ACS Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Burns says: “We have noticed a real reduction in queries about pay and remuneration because it is standardised pay with the real Living Wage being the minimum. We like to think we invest in our staff and in turn we get more back.”
Living Wage and Living Hours accreditation signals an employer’s commitment to providing decent and fair work conditions and practices. This can be beneficial when applying for other accreditations, as ACS observed during their pursuit of B Corp certification (pending) which measures a company’s environmental and social impact.
Advice to other employers
ACS say that adopting the real Living Wage is one of the biggest and best things they have done as a business. They encourage their suppliers and customers to embrace the real Living, sharing how it has led to improved productivity, increased staff loyalty, and decreased costs associated with absent staff, training, and recruitment.
Anthony says: “I would say don’t delay, don’t procrastinate, go ahead and do it. All businesses have a duty of care as good corporate citizens to do the right thing and value employees, and this is a real way you can do this. It didn’t take long, and any time spent dealing with the administration around it, which wasn’t long, is absolutely offset by the benefits that come with it.”
Arek concludes: “My message to employers is go for it, pay that little bit extra. Your staff will appreciate it and will repay you over and over again. The Living Wage accreditation is a badge of honour that both you as an employer and us as employees will wear with pride.”