We Kept Our EcoVadis Gold Medal; What That Means for Your Bulk Earphone Supply

In our latest assessment, we kept our EcoVadis Gold Medal and improved our overall score to 81/100. We remained in the 96th percentile, with an Advanced sustainability performance level. Our score breakdown was 81/100 for Environment, 78/100 for Labor & Human Rights, 94/100 for Ethics, and 79/100 for Sustainable Procurement. EcoVadis also noted that our score improved because of additional measures and better sustainability reporting.

How EcoVadis Helps Us Manage Responsible Earphone Sourcing

Sustainability and ethics are not just selling points for MSupport. They are part of how we want to run our company.

We care about the people who work with us. That includes the people in our office in the Netherlands. It also includes the people working in the factories that produce our products. We visit our partner factories. We see the workshops. We see the people doing the work. They are not invisible to us, and they matter.

We are also realistic about the products we sell. Earphones are useful products, but they still have an impact. They are produced from materials, packed, transported, used, and eventually disposed of or processed as waste. When products are sold in high volumes, this impact becomes important.

That does not mean we stop supplying them. It means we take responsibility for reducing the impact where we can.

EcoVadis helps us structure that work. Its assessment is based on policies, actions, reporting, supporting documents, and external information. Company statements are only credited when evidence is provided. The assessment is also adapted to the company’s size, industry, location, and risk profile.

Words are easy. EcoVadis helps us prove our words with evidence.

What EcoVadis checks, and why it matters

EcoVadis is an independent sustainability rating platform. It assesses how well a company manages sustainability, ethics, and supply chain responsibility. It is not a simple self-declaration, and it is not just a marketing badge. Companies must provide supporting documents, and EcoVadis reviews the evidence before giving a score.

The assessment is built around four themes:

Environment — how a company manages energy, emissions, materials, waste, product impact, and environmental responsibility.

Labor & Human Rights — how a company manages working conditions, health and safety, training, discrimination prevention, and human rights risks.

Ethics — how a company manages anti-corruption, information security, responsible business conduct, and reporting procedures.

Sustainable Procurement — how a company manages environmental and social risks in its supply chain, including supplier checks and purchasing practices.

EcoVadis also looks at more than written policies. It assesses actions, reporting, certifications, and external information, including 360° Watch findings from public and third-party sources. This helps show whether a company has a working management system, not just good intentions.

For MSupport, this structure is useful because our biggest impact is not only in our Dutch office. Our sustainability report shows that our larger indirect impact sits in the value chain, especially in purchased goods, logistics, and supplier relations. Production takes place mainly in China through an exclusive buying partner, so supplier management is an important part of our responsibility.

For customers, EcoVadis gives a clearer view of the company behind the earphones. It helps answer practical questions: Does the supplier manage environmental impact? Does it care about labor standards? Does it have clear ethics rules? Does it check its supply chain?

That matters because when you buy bulk earphones, you are not only buying a product. You are choosing the supplier responsible for managing the risks behind that product.

Environment: reducing the impact of bulk earphones where we can

Earphones are small, but bulk orders are not.

At scale, small choices around materials, packaging, transport, waste, and product end-of-life become important.

MSupport scored 81/100 for Environment in the EcoVadis assessment. The report highlights environmental policies, waste targets, waste sorting, recycling, renewable energy purchasing or generation, reduced paper consumption, reduced transport emissions, and customer information on environmental or social product impacts.

Our own KPI report shows why this matters. Sustainable products represented 58.5% of total sold units, driven mainly by Prime-P products. Cellulose-based packaging represented approximately 49% of sold units on the current reporting basis.

We also know where the biggest challenge sits. Our greenhouse gas estimate shows that 90% of emissions come from Scope 3, meaning the value chain. Purchased goods and services represent 74.1% of total emissions.

For customers, this is important. It shows that we are not pretending the main impact sits in our small Dutch office. The main impact is in the supply chain: materials, production, packaging, transport, and product end-of-life.

Responsible earphone supply also does not stop when the products are delivered. Earphones eventually become waste, and for bulk buyers this can create practical questions around WEEE, take-back, recycling, and end-of-life responsibility.

MSupport has reactivated its take-back and reconditioning model. In the latest reporting year, 42.9% of returned units were successfully reconditioned. The reconditioning work was carried out with 100% social participation, creating both environmental and social value.

We also support WEEE compliance for customers. Our reporting approach includes both mandatory and voluntary WEEE reporting, helping customers manage producer-responsibility obligations in relevant markets.

For customers, this saves time and reduces uncertainty. Many buyers do not have time to understand every producer-responsibility rule in every country. By supporting WEEE reporting and circular services, we help customers manage end-of-life responsibilities more responsibly.

That is exactly why environmental management matters in bulk earphone supply. It is not only about the product itself. It is about reducing avoidable impact before, during, and after the sale.

Labor & Human Rights: people are part of the earphone story

When a product is made far away, labor conditions are harder for buyers to see.

Most customers cannot visit factories. They cannot check working hours, safety procedures, worker treatment, wages, discrimination policies, or forced labor risks themselves. That distance creates risk.

MSupport scored 78/100 for Labor & Human Rights in the EcoVadis assessment. The report highlights policies and actions related to employee health and safety, working conditions, career management and training, and preventing discrimination and harassment.

Our Code of Conduct sets expectations for suppliers and partners. It includes commitments on forced labor, child labor, fair wages, working hours, safe working conditions, non-discrimination, freedom of association, and compliance with local and international labor standards, including China’s Labor Law and ILO Core Conventions.

This matters because we do not see factory workers as a distant part of the chain. We visit factories and see the people working there. A responsible earphone supplier should care about those conditions, even when the product itself is simple and price-sensitive.

For customers, this gives a stronger basis for buying earphones made in China. You are not relying only on a product photo, a price list, or a verbal promise. You are working with a supplier that has written standards and a process for supplier responsibility.

Ethics in Earphone Supply: Clear Rules, Lower Risk

Ethics is MSupport’s strongest EcoVadis theme. We scored 94/100 for Ethics.

EcoVadis highlighted our policies on corruption and information security, employee acknowledgement of ethics policies, whistleblower procedures, approval procedures for sensitive transactions, awareness training on information security, and measures to protect third-party data.

This is practical for customers. When you share forecasts, product specifications, delivery addresses, custom packaging needs, prices, or tender information, you need a supplier that handles business properly. You need clear rules, not informal promises.

Our KPI report also shows 0 reported violations under our Code of Conduct and reporting system across the reporting period.

For customers, this reduces business risk. It is especially important for public organizations, healthcare buyers, schools, airlines, museums, and companies with formal procurement requirements.

Sustainable Procurement: responsible earphone sourcing in practice

For China-made earphones, Sustainable Procurement is one of the most important EcoVadis themes.

This theme looks at how a company manages social and environmental risks in its supply chain. That is exactly where much of the risk sits when buying electronics from overseas.

MSupport scored 79/100 for Sustainable Procurement. EcoVadis highlighted our sustainable procurement policies, supplier sustainability checks, and internal purchasing processes that include sustainability.

This matters because a product can look fine when it arrives, but still have weak control behind it.

• Was the supplier checked?

• Was the factory suitable?

• Were product documents reviewed?

• Were social and environmental risks considered?

• Can the shipment be traced?

• Can the supplier answer compliance questions?

These are the questions that more procurement teams, auditors, and public buyers are asking.

Responsible sourcing is not only about choosing the right factory. It also means understanding the regulations that apply to the product, the market, and the customer.

Regulations can sometimes feel bureaucratic. They take time, and they create extra paperwork. But they exist for a reason. Product safety rules, environmental requirements, WEEE obligations, data protection, anti-bribery laws, labor standards, and documentation requirements all help reduce risk. They protect customers, users, workers, and the wider supply chain.

Our Code of Conduct refers to key regulatory areas including RoHS, REACH, WEEE, CE marking, UKCA, GDPR, anti-bribery laws, conflict minerals, and labor standards. It also states that we research requirements before entering new markets or launching new products.

For customers, this is a practical benefit. It helps reduce the chance that your purchasing team is left with missing documents, unclear responsibilities, or unanswered compliance questions.

Our answer is not “trust us.” Our answer is: we have been independently assessed, we have documented policies, and we can provide customer-ready proof where needed.

That is what responsible procurement means to us. Not just buying at the lowest price, but understanding the risks behind the product and managing them before they become your problem.

Why this matters, even when price is your first priority in your earphone supply

We know price matters. Our customers need affordable earphones for tours, museums, airlines, schools, hospitals, and group audio systems.

But the lowest price is not always the lowest cost. A cheaper supplier may create hidden work for your team. Missing documents, unclear compliance, poor communication, shipment issues, weak traceability, or unanswered supplier questions can all cost time and money.

A responsible supplier helps reduce that hidden cost. Not only through the product, but through the systems behind it.

Supporting Your ESG and Supplier Assessment Requirements

For serious buyers, tenders, ESG teams, and procurement departments, we can support our claims with relevant documentation. This may include our EcoVadis scorecard summary, Code of Conduct, product compliance information, supplier responsibility statements, WEEE information, and other customer-ready documents.

This matters because many of our customers also have their own ESG responsibilities. They may need to complete supplier assessments, answer tender questions, prepare sustainability reports, or provide data to their own customers. When you work with an EcoVadis-assessed supplier, part of that work becomes easier. You are not starting with an unknown supplier. You are working with a company that has already been assessed on Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.

Our information can support your own assessment process, whether your organization uses EcoVadis, BSCI/amfori, an internal supplier questionnaire, a public tender system, or another responsible sourcing framework. The themes often overlap: supplier checks, labor standards, product compliance, environmental impact, ethics, traceability, and documentation.

We can also help customers with more specific environmental data. For example, our sustainability goals include expanding Product Carbon Footprint coverage using the EcoVadis calculation module, with the aim to create Product Carbon Footprints for at least 50% of product models sold in 2026.

For customers, this can be useful when estimating the impact of bulk earphones, comparing product options, preparing ESG reporting, or answering questions from their own procurement or sustainability teams.

We do not publish every internal process publicly. That would not help customers, and it would only make it easier for competitors to copy our language without doing the work behind it. Any competitor can say they do the same. A stronger supplier can show how it is assessed, documented, measured, and controlled.

That is the value of working with an EcoVadis-assessed supplier. You get more than responsible earphone supply. You get documentation, structure, and evidence that can support your own ESG, tender, and supplier-assessment requirements.

What’s next: keeping Gold is not the finish line

Keeping our EcoVadis Gold Medal is important, but it is not the end of the work. The value of EcoVadis is that it shows where we are strong and where we still need to improve.

Our next steps are focused on making responsible earphone supply easier to prove, measure, and improve. In 2026, our goals include increasing the share of Prime-P or equivalent PVC-replacement materials to at least 65% of total sold units, maintaining cellulose-based packaging at a minimum of 45%, and increasing it further toward 55% where technically and commercially possible. We also aim to expand recycled packaging to at least 5% of sold units. These steps help us move toward our longer-term ambition of a PVC-free product range and broader use of lower-impact materials.

Circularity is another priority. We want to scale take-back and reconditioning, increase customer participation, and make product life extension a more practical option for companies buying bulk earphones. At the same time, we want to improve our data quality for packaging, energy, waste, and emissions, so future reporting becomes more consistent and easier to compare year by year.

Finally, we want to support customers with better ESG data. One of our goals is to expand Product Carbon Footprint coverage using the EcoVadis calculation module, with the aim of covering at least 50% of product models sold in 2026. This can help customers compare product options, answer ESG questions, and document the impact of their earphone supply more clearly.

For customers, this means our role as a supplier keeps developing. We want to provide not only bulk earphones and guided tour earphones, but also better documentation, clearer ESG support, and more practical ways to reduce impact in the supply chain.

Our goal is simple: keep improving the product, the process, and the proof behind every order.