Privacy Notices

Introduction:

This Notice explains how we obtain, use and disclose your personal information, in accordance with the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”).

Gq Tissue Products (Pty) Ltd (www.gqt.co.za) are committed to protecting your privacy and to ensure that your personal information is collected and used properly, lawfully and transparently.

Who we are:

GQ Tissue Products was established in 2001, as a converter of tissue products, with the intention of providing high quality tissue products at an affordable price, in a market dominated by a few leading Brands. The rest of the industry consisted of those producing poor quality, and often short changing consumers with lower than stated quantity. The philosophy at GQ Tissue is to supply the consumer with value for money products, and that would result in building a reputation of a company with integrity, and one that is committed to quality. The company commenced production of facial tissue, which was produced from high quality raw materials, sourced from producers in three continents that not only have quality management systems (ISO 9001) but also have accreditation for environmental good practice, with responsible deforestation and replenishment.

In 2004, the company expanded into the production of serviettes, sourcing coloured paper from leading European producers that have EU and FDA approval for, especially the dies, and bleaches, making them safe in food handling. The company produces a large range of one and two ply coloured serviettes in a range of 22 colours, in attractive packaging. 2007 saw another giant step for the company, having moved to the newly built factory of 2500 square metres, where the space allowed the company to expand into the full range of tissue consumer products.

Additionally, the company also started manufacturing a limited range of ‘Away From Home’ products. Having consolidated the range, in 2009 the company decided to purchase a fully automated, European pocket hanky line, which was installed in January 2010, which, “We believe to be the first in the country”, with most other product being imported! In 2009 the company also increased the number of Away from Home lines.

Most of the company’s plant is European, with some Asian machines, from ISO 9001 accredited machine builders. The company has balanced automation with job creation, and has steadily increased its workforce, thus providing employment, and skills training. The Company is 100% owned by previously disadvantages individuals, with more than 40% being held by women. The vision for the future- Consolidate its growth, continue with steady growth, maintain and improve quality, and continue to operate with integrity. 2011 saw another giant leap for the company, whereby it moved to new 7500m2 facilities. Again, production capacity was substantially increased with the addition of full automatic touchless facial tissue and toilet lines. GQ Tissue Products obtained their ISO 9001:2001 certification in 2014 and their ISO 9001:2015 in 2018.

The type of personal information we collect:

We collect, the following information, including, but not limited to:

information relating to the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic, or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, well-being, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth of the person;

information relating to the education or the medical, financial, criminal or employment history of the person;

any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier, or other particular assignment to the person;

the access control information of the person;

the personal opinions, views or preferences of the person;

correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence;

the views or opinions of another individual about the person; and

the name of the person if it appears with other personal information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person.

We collect and process your personal information mainly to contact you for the purposes of understanding your requirements, and delivering services accordingly..

We collect information directly from you where you provide us with your personal details. Where possible, we will inform you what information you are required to provide to us and what information is optional.

Website usage information may be collected using “cookies” which allows us to collect standard internet visitor usage information.

How we get the personal information and what we use it for:

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:

We will use your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and agreed with you. In addition, where necessary your information may be retained for legal or user experience optimisation purposes, enabling us to provide you with an enhanced shopping experience at Gq Tissue Products (Pty) Ltd

To gather contact information;
To conclude a sale or service offered
To confirm and verify your identity or to verify that you are an authorised user for security purposes;
For the detection and prevention of fraud, crime, money laundering or other malpractice;
To conduct market or customer satisfaction research or for statistical analysis;
For audit and record keeping purposes;
In connection with legal proceedings.

We also receive personal information indirectly, from the following sources in the following scenarios:

Our customers who resell products
Housebrand franchises who provide details of queries , compliments or complaints

We use the information that you have given us in order to:

Conclude investigations with regard to complaints or queries
For sales and service delivery
To gather contact information;
To conclude a sale or service offered
To confirm and verify your identity or to verify that you are an authorised user for security purposes;
For the detection and prevention of fraud, crime, money laundering or other malpractice;
To conduct market or customer satisfaction research or for statistical analysis;
For audit and record keeping purposes;
In connection with legal proceedings.

We may share this information with:

We may disclose your personal information to our service providers or stakeholders who are involved in the delivery of products or services to you. We have agreements in place to ensure that they comply with the privacy requirements as required by the Protection of Personal Information Act.

We may also disclose your information:

Where we have a duty or a right to disclose in terms of law or industry codes;
Where we believe it is necessary to protect our rights.

Collection of Information by “Cookies”

You are aware that information and data is automatically collected through the standard operation of the Internet servers and through the use of “cookies.” “Cookies” are small text files a Website can use to recognise repeat users, facilitate the user’s ongoing access to and use of the Website and allow a Website to track usage behaviour and compile aggregate data that will allow content improvements and targeted advertising. Cookies are not programs that come onto your system and damage files. Generally, cookies work by assigning a unique number to you that has no meaning outside the assigning site. If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows you to deny or accept the cookie feature; however, you should note that cookies may be necessary to provide you with certain features (e.g., customized delivery of information) available on our Websites.

When will we process your personal information:

In terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), the justification ground which we base our processing on consist out of the following:

The data subject or a competent person where the data subject is a child consents to the processing. Kindly note that you have the right to withdraw your consent;
The processing is necessary to carry out actions for the conclusion or performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party;
The processing complies with an obligation imposed by law on the business;
The processing protects a legitimate interest of the data subject;
The processing is necessary for the proper performance of a public law duty by the business;

The processing is necessary for pursuing the legitimate interests of the business or of a third party to whom the information is supplied.

How we store your personal information:

We are legally obliged to provide adequate protection for the personal information we hold and to stop unauthorized access and use of personal information. We will, on an on-going basis, continue to review our security controls and related processes to ensure that your personal information remains secure.

Our security policies and procedures cover:

Physical security;
Computer and network security;
Access to personal information;
Secure communications;
Security in contracting out activities or functions;
Retention and disposal of information;
Acceptable usage of personal information;
Governance and regulatory issues;
Monitoring access and usage of private information;
Investigating and reacting to security incidents.

When we contract with third parties, we impose appropriate security, privacy and confidentiality obligations on them to ensure that personal information that we remain responsible for, is kept secure.

We keep your information for as per our Data Retention Policy. We will then dispose your information by as per our Data Destruction Policy.

Your data protection rights:

You are entitled to access your personal data by sending a written request to ethics@gqt.co.za We may charge you a fee for this service as set out in terms of Condition 8 of POPIA.
You may also request Gq Tissue Products (Pty) Ltd to correct or supplement any of your personal data which Gq Tissue Products (Pty) Ltd will undertake as soon as practicable.
Request the destruction of your personal data. Ridwaan Lakhana will consider your request in light of any other laws or regulations prohibiting Gq Tissue Products (Pty) Ltd from destroying your personal data.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

Please contact us at ethics@gqt.co.za if you wish to make a request.

Contact details:

Name: Hawa Lakhana

Address: 311 barolong street, icon industrial park, 0157

Phone Number: 0126668252

E-mail: ethics@gqt.co.za

How to complain:

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at ethics@gqt.co.za

You can also complain to the Information Regulator if you are unhappy with how we have used your Information.

Their contact details are as follows:

The Information Regulator (South Africa)

33 Hoofd Street
Forum III, 3rd Floor Braampark
P.O Box 31533
Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017

Complaints email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za