We don’t manufacture our products, but we have suppliers who manufacture the products for us.

We strive for long, strong, and stable collaborations with our suppliers. We believe that we with good collaborations can reach the best quality.

When we enter a collaboration with a supplier, the supplier must sign our code of Conduct.

With that they must comply with basic things, as not to use child or forced labor, that they pay a fair wage to their employees and that they comply with all international and local laws.

They also sign, among other things, that they minimize negative
influence on biodiversity, that they use materials from responsible
foresting (e.g. by using FSC® certified paper) and that they use their energy resources efficiently. 

Our Code of Conduct was implemented in 2022 and all suppliers have signed the agreement.

You can read our Code of Conduct here.

We are honored to be a FSC-certified company (SCS-COC-005763-BS). Our posters and cards are printed on Swedish
FSC-certified paper in Denmark.

Our jigsaw puzzles, diaries, journals, notebooks, and other
paper products all carry the FSC-label. Look for the FSC logo on our FSC-certified products.

The FSC label is an important beacon for us when we choose
suppliers for our products and packaging. The FSC-label is a guarantee that we can buy these paper products with a clear conscience.

The products are made of materials from responsibly managed
FSC-certified forests, recycled materials, and other controlled sources. Among other points, this means that the forested area remains undiminished from generation to generation, that animals and plants are protected, and that the forest workers have decent working conditions.

Because we are a FSC certified company, we have annual audits,
where a FSC representative checks that we label our products correctly and that we have the right documentations for our FSC certified products.

FSC is a global non-profit organization that aims to promote
responsible forestry around the world. By choosing products that carry the FSC label, you are helping to protect the world’s forests. For additional information, you can visit www.fsc.dk

Ink can be chemical-based or plant-based. Some inks can contain toxic substances that for example can be carcinogenic.

All our products are printed using eco-friendly ink that
complies with all EU standards, which means our products do not contain toxic heavy metals. 

Since 2021 we have manufactured products using only plant-based ink. Before 2021 most of our products have been printed with plant-based ink.

Our posters and cards are printed in Denmark at Nordic Swan Eco labeled® printing houses.

There are strict requirements to which chemicals they can and cannot use in the printing process. There are also requirements to which paper they can use and how high the energy consumption can be.

You can read more about the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s requirements to printing houses here.

The paper for our posters and cards comes from a factory that
uses the environmental management system ISO 14001 and EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme). This guarantees that the factory complies with all applicable environmental standards and can document that it meets its own sustainability standards.

Among other aspects, this involves the continuous effort to reduce CO2 emissions and investments in sustainable transportation and energy solutions. The factory has some of the lowest emissions figures anywhere in the world and has minimized its water consumption. 

The paper used for our puzzles is produced locally according to the location of the factory and is FSC® certified.

In 2022, we have started measuring our CO2 emissions so we can monitor our consumption.
Our consumption is measured via “Klimakompasset” and shows our emissions in scope 1, 2 and 3.

Scope 1 covers the emissions we ”own”. That is for example transportation to our fairs.
Scope 2 covers our use of energy in our office/warehouse.
Scope 3 covers the emissions in our value chain. That is for example the emissions from manufacturing our products and transportation to and from our warehouse.

Most of our emissions is in scope 3. That is mainly because we don’t manufacture our own products.

We hope that we in long term can reduce our CO2 emissions per employee by, among other things, decreasing our emissions in transportations and by choosing more recycled material in our production.

Read 2021 report here. (In Danish)
Read 2022 report here. (In Danish)

As part of our goal of inclusion, we have chosen to introduce a
program in 2021, where we always have room for at least one “flexjobber” or what corresponds to 10% of the employees.

A flexjob is an employment that considers that the worker’s ability
to work is limited due to health conditions. This means that tasks and working hours in the flexjob are adapted to what the flexjobber can handle.

The purpose of the program is to get the flexjobber ready for a permanent employment or to clarify how much the flexjobber can work (a resource course managed by local authorities). The permanent employment can either be with ViSSEVASSE or with another company.

The program is targeted at people who are otherwise outside the labor market, e.g. due to physical or mental challenges.

The program is carried out in collaboration with relevant authorities, which refer flexjobbers to ViSSEVASSE. The program
typically takes place with an internship period of 1-3 months, depending on the purpose of the program. The purpose is clarified in collaboration with the authorities.

During the program, the flexjobber is connected to a mentor (a
full-time employee) who will train the flexjobber. The mentor will also be available to the flexjobber on an ongoing basis and have conversations that evaluate the flexjobber's well-being in the workplace.

During the program, the mentor has regular contact with the authorities about the flexjobber’s well-being. 

If the flexjobber is permanently employed at ViSSEVASSE, it is on thesame terms and salary as other employees in the same position.

We cannot run a business without our employees. That is why it is
incredibly important for us to have a good workplace where our employees thrive. 

We give our employees the opportunity to excel in externalc ourses, job rotation and internal promotions. 

In addition, our employees have various benefits such as:

• Part time workers get free lunch
• Full time workers get paid during lunch break
• Company-paid day off on full times workers' birthdays
• Work injury insurance

We conduct an annual employee satisfaction survey, which is anonymous.

In the survey we examine if the employees are generally satisfied and happy with their job and input is sent to the management. We also conduct annual employee development interviews with all employees to ensure that everyone is happy with their job. 

If there are complaints, challenges, or anything else the employees want to address, there is a contact person outside the management who employees can contact.

In addition, we have an anonymous whistleblower scheme, where employees can contact us. 

All complaints are treated with the utmost seriousness. 

We have not yet received any complaints and our employee satisfaction survey shows that our employees are happy with their workplace.

We want to make sure our suppliers offer proper and fair working conditions to their employees.

We do this by using our Code of Conduct, which our suppliers sign.

In the Code, we have requirements on the social conditions, for example:

• No use of forced or child labor
• Employees must get fair wages
• There must be safe working conditions
• All employees must have the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining

You can read all our requirements in our Code of Conduct here.

Since autumn 2020, ViSSEVASSE has supported LittleBigHelp’s charitable work in India.

LittleBigHelp works to create better future opportunities for
vulnerable children and families in West Bengal in north-eastern India.

The organization strives to protect children’s basic rights, including safety and education, and to empower women socially and economically through job skills training.

‘We are proud to be a corporate partner and thus to support LBH’s projects in India. We have designed a fund-raising poster and will be donating all the proceeds from the sale of it to LBH. The poster symbolizes hope, peace and friendship and shows three children playing in front of one of Kolkata’s most iconic buildings, the Victoria Memorial,’ says Dorthe Mathiesen (owner and designer at ViSSEVASSE).

With our support for LittleBigHelp we have signed on as a
corporate partner. This means that we are committed to supporting LittleBigHelp every year.

Read more about our cooperation with LittleBigHelp here.

In 2021 we have donated money to the following organizations:

• Danmarksindsamlingen
• Familier med kræftramte børn
• LittleBigHelp  

In 2022 we have donated money to the following organizations:

• Dänische Seemannskirche
• Knæk Cancer 
• LittleBigHelp
• Ladies Circle

Product donations and pro bono
Besides money donations, we also continuously donate products to good causes. That could be fundraising auctions, prizes for lotteries or something similar.

We have also done pro bono work in form of fundraising posters for LittleBigHelp and Danmarksindsamlingen.

We minimize our use of packaging as much as possible without compromising the need to protect the products. 

We mainly rely on cardboard when we package products for
mailing. Almost all our cardboard for packaging is made of recycled materials, with a few exceptions due to need to make boxes that are stable for the transportation of heavier items, such as our frames.

All the components of our packaging are recyclable. 

We use plastic bubble wrap to protect our products. The bubble wrap is made from reused plastic.

It is important for us to pack our shipments with as little air as possible to ensure our packages arrive safely and to reduce our use of transportation. 

We save all the cardboard boxes we get into the house, e.g. in connection with the delivery of goods, and reuse them when we send products to our retailers. 

We are constantly looking for better alternatives to minimize our use of packaging. In the long run we would like to exclusively use
packaging from recycled or certified materials. 

We have chosen 100% green electricity from Ørsted.

We have chosen to our location on Amager, to provide good and
green transportation options for our employees. Getting to work by bike or public transport is easy.

We encourage employees to hold online meetings with external partners to reduce CO2 emissions through transportation as much as possible.

Products produced outside EU are transported by ship and not aircraft to reduce CO2 emissions during transportation. Transportation from suppliers in EU takes place by truck.

We sort our waste in our office and warehouse.  

We sort our waste in the following fractions:

• Cardboard
• Paper
• Soft plastic
• Metal
• Glass
• Toxic waste
• Residual waste 
• Bio

We have an ongoing dialogue with our landlord, to investigate the possibility of sorting into even more fractions.

If we have items with defects, they are usually sold as 2nd sort items in our store or donated to charity.

Our lunch service is mainly vegetarian and organic.We have many plants in our office to ensure a good indoor climate. 

All the paper we use to print packing slips and similar items in-house is FSC-certified. 

All printed matter such as stickers and return slips is CO2-compensated.We use non-toxic janitorial products and non-bleached toilet paper and tissues to ensure toxin reduction.