The Scandinavian clothing retailer is working with a local organisation called Swasti in cooperation with the India office and Iqbal Kazy, South Asia sustainability manager, to launch the initiative across its Indian supply chain this September.The initiative aims to educate factory managers on gender equality, and guide them in the integration of new projects into their management systems. The aim is to change the leadership and management style in factories, so they can become more inclusive for women and aware of gender equality issues. 

Thirty-six factories in Bangladesh and Myanmar have taken part in the programme and 78,000 workers, including 46,000 women, have been reached, according to Lindex. The addition of India will mean that the WE Women initiative will have an impact on the lives of 90,000 textile workers.By 2025, the Swedish brand wants 80% of its production to come from suppliers who have completed the Women Empowerment programme.On Monday Lindex announced that its operating result doubled to 65 million SEK ($6.7m) in the first half of the year, while total sales remained flat as a result of a cold spring and the distortion caused by Easter’s timing. Online sales grew 29.6% during the period.