Code of Conduct

How we work, who we work with, and what we expect from everyone in our supply chain.

At Mariana Malni, beautiful objects are not the same as ethical objects. A bag can be exquisite in the hand and still carry the weight of harm we never see — environmental, social, or animal. This Code of Conduct is our written commitment to never let that be true of a Mariana Malni piece.

We are a young house. The framework below describes both what is already in practice today and what we are formally developing through 2026 in partnership with our suppliers. We publish it now, before we have every certification we will eventually hold, because transparency about where we are is more useful to our customers than silence about what we are still building.

Our production partner

Every Mariana Malni bag is hand-crafted in the United Arab Emirates by Cuoio Italian Leather Industry, our long-term production partner since 2023. We do not own this workshop. We chose to work alongside artisans who had already spent careers learning Italian leather craft, rather than build a factory from scratch.

Cuoio is the only production facility used for any Mariana Malni piece. We do not work with unnamed factories, contract manufacturers, or production agents.

What we expect

The principles below apply to Cuoio, to our material suppliers (Vegea S.r.l. in Milan, our LWG Gold-certified Tuscan tannery, Nona Source in Paris), and to every future hardware and component supplier we onboard. We expect partners to share these standards before we begin work together, and we monitor compliance through ongoing relationship review.

Labour & human rights

• Voluntary employment — no forced, bonded, or trafficked labour in any form
• No child labour; we follow the higher of local legal minimum age or 16
• Freedom of association — workers have the right to organise and collectively bargain
• Non-discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, nationality, age, disability, sexual orientation, or political affiliation
• Working hours and overtime compensation that comply with local labour law, with regular overtime treated as a planning failure, not a norm
• Workplace safety standards including protective equipment and reasonable working conditions

Wages

• Payment of legal minimum wage or higher
• Progress toward a living wage in every market we operate in (see our Living Wage statement for the full framework)
• Wages paid in full, on time, and in legal tender
• No disciplinary wage deductions

Environment

• Compliance with local and international environmental regulations
• LWG Gold certification or equivalent for all leather tannery suppliers
• Verifiable management of water, chemicals, and waste at material production stages
• Progressive reduction of emissions across the supply chain, with renewable energy adopted where infrastructure permits

Animals

• No exotic leather (python, crocodile, lizard, ostrich, eel) — not now, not ever
• Genuine leather sourced exclusively as a by-product of the European food industry; no animal raised for hide alone
• No animal testing of materials, dyes, finishes, or components
• See our Animal Welfare policy for the full framework

Ethics

• No bribery, corruption, or improper payments
• Honest representation of materials, origin, and processes to customers and authorities
• Protection of confidential information shared between partners

No unauthorised subcontracting

Cuoio Italian Leather Industry is our sole final-stage production partner. We do not permit our work to be subcontracted to additional facilities without our explicit written approval and prior audit of any proposed facility.

This matters because subcontracting without oversight is one of the most common ways labour and environmental violations enter a supply chain. By naming our single production partner publicly, we eliminate ambiguity for our customers and for the auditors who verify our claims.

How we monitor

We monitor compliance with this Code through three mechanisms:

Third-party certification

Our leather supply chain is verified by the Leather Working Group, an independent international body that audits tanneries on environmental performance, traceability, chemical management, and worker safety. Our partner Tuscan tannery holds LWG Gold certification — the highest tier — and is re-audited annually. Approximately 50% of Mariana Malni SKUs source materials covered by this certification. Our grape-leather alternative is PETA-Approved Vegan, covering the remaining 50% of SKUs.

Direct supplier engagement

Founder Mariana Malni maintains direct relationships with every named partner. Production at Cuoio's UAE workshop is reviewed in person on a continuing basis, and material suppliers (Vegea S.r.l., Nona Source, our Tuscan tannery) are visited or reviewed annually for continued alignment with this Code.

Reporting channel

Any concern about working conditions, environmental practices, or ethical conduct at any Mariana Malni partner facility can be reported in confidence to mariana@marianamalni.com. The founder reads every message personally. We commit to investigating reported concerns within 14 days and to ensuring that no retaliation occurs against any party who raises a concern in good faith.

Where we are still developing

We will not pretend a young brand has the same formalised infrastructure as a fifty-year-old house. The honest picture of our 2026 roadmap:

Each of these is a real commitment with a real deadline. We will update this page as items move from roadmap to practice.

Accountability

This Code of Conduct is owned and signed by the founder. It will be reviewed and re-published every 12 months, with the date of last review stated below.

If you are a customer, supplier, journalist, or auditor with questions or concerns about anything in this document, please write directly: mariana@marianamalni.com. We answer.

Current as of 23 May 2026.
Mariana Malni, Founder.