Privacy Policy
Last updated: [09, 30, 2026]

Your privacy matters to us. This policy explains what personal information Bench / Freemark Apparel Brands International ("Bench", "we", "us") collects when you visit or shop on our website, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to our websites and online store, our emails and text messages, and our customer service interactions.

We comply with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), applicable provincial privacy laws, and Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (as amended by Law 25).

1. Who is responsible for your information
Freemark Apparel Brands International, 5375 Chem. de la Côte-de-Liesse, Saint-Laurent, QC H4P 1A1, Canada, is responsible for the personal information we collect.

2. Information we collect
We collect only the information we need for the purposes described in this policy.
•    Information you give us: name, email address, phone number, billing and shipping addresses, account login details, order details, and the content of messages you send to customer service, reviews, or contest entries.
•    Payment information: payments are processed by our payment providers. We do not store full credit card numbers on our systems; we receive limited details such as the card type, last four digits and payment status.
•    Information collected automatically: IP address, device and browser type, pages viewed, products browsed, items added to cart, referring website or ad, approximate location (derived from IP address), and other usage data, collected through cookies and similar technologies.
•    Information from third parties: for example, delivery status from shipping carriers, fraud-screening results from our payment and ecommerce platform, or information from friends who refer you through our referral program.

3. How we use your information
•    To process and deliver your orders, handle payments, returns and exchanges, and provide customer service.
•    To create and manage your account and our rewards or referral programs.
•    To send you marketing emails or text messages, only where you have given consent (see Section 6).
•    To run contests and promotions you choose to enter.
•    To operate, secure and improve our website, including detecting and preventing fraud and abuse.
•    To measure and improve our advertising and understand how customers use our site.
•    To meet legal, tax and regulatory obligations.
We will not use your personal information for a new purpose without informing you and, where required, obtaining your consent.

4. Consent
We collect, use and share your personal information with your consent, which may be express or implied depending on the sensitivity of the information and the circumstances, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. When you place an order or create an account, you consent to our use of your information to fulfil it. You can withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions, by contacting our Privacy Officer. Withdrawing consent may limit our ability to provide certain services.

5. Cookies and similar technologies
We use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to:
•    Operate the site (essential): keep items in your cart, remember your region and currency, and keep the site secure.
•    Measure performance and analytics: understand how visitors use the site.
•    Advertising and marketing: measure ad performance and show you relevant ads on other platforms. e.g., Google, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest.
Some of these technologies can identify you or track your online activity across sites ("profiling"). Non-essential cookies are off by default and are only activated if you accept them through our cookie banner. You can change your choices at any time using [the "Cookie Preferences" link in the footer], and you can also block cookies in your browser settings, although parts of the site may not work properly.

6. Marketing communications
We send promotional emails and text messages only with your consent. Every message includes an unsubscribe link or opt-out instructions (for text messages, reply STOP). You can also email [privacy@bench.ca] to unsubscribe. We will still send you transactional messages about your orders and account. Our messages identify Bench as the sender, in accordance with CASL.
7. Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run our business, and only as needed for their services. They are required to protect your information and use it only for our purposes. These include:

•    Ecommerce platform and payments: Shopify (hosting, checkout, payment processing, fraud analysis) and payment providers such as Shopify Payments, PayPal, Afterpay.
•    Email and text marketing: Klaviyo.
•    Customer service: Gorgias.
•    Returns: Loop Returns.
•    Referral program: ReferralCandy.
•    Accessibility and cookie consent tools: accessiBe and Consentik.
•    Shipping and delivery: carriers such as Canada Post, UPS, FedEx, Purolator & other courriers.
•    Analytics and advertising: Google Analytics, Meta, etc., and our marketing and technical service providers.
•    Professional advisors, authorities and affiliates: where required by law, to enforce our rights, or as part of a business transaction such as a merger or sale, in which case the recipient must protect your information in accordance with this policy.

8. Storage and transfers outside your province or Canada
Some of our service providers store or process information outside of Quebec and outside of Canada, including in the United States. Your information may therefore be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions, including access by their courts or authorities. For information originating in Quebec, we conduct a privacy impact assessment before any such transfer and use contractual protections to ensure your information receives adequate protection. You may contact our Privacy Officer for more information about these transfers.

9. Retention
We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described above or as required by law (for example, tax and accounting records are generally kept for six years). Once it is no longer needed, we destroy it or anonymize it in accordance with applicable law.

10. Security
We use reasonable physical, technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls and vendor due diligence. No system is completely secure. If a privacy incident presents a risk of serious harm to you, we will notify you and the applicable privacy regulators as required by law.

11. Your rights
Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:
•    Access the personal information we hold about you and ask how it is used;
•    Request correction of inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information;
•    Withdraw your consent to the collection, use or sharing of your information;
•    Request deletion of your information, and, for Quebec residents, ask us to cease disseminating it or de-index any link to it where the law permits;
•    Data portability: for Quebec residents, receive computerized personal information we collected from you in a structured, commonly used technological format, or have it sent to another organization, where technically feasible;
•    Be informed of automated decisions: if a decision is made about you exclusively by automated processing, you may ask about the personal information used, the main factors behind the decision, and request that it be reviewed by a person. We do not currently make decisions of this kind [confirm];
•    File a complaint with us or with a privacy authority (see Section 14).
To exercise your rights, email our Privacy Officer at info@bench.ca or write to the address in Section 1. We may need to verify your identity first. We will respond within 30 days. If we refuse a request, we will explain why in writing and tell you about your recourse options.

12. Children
Our website is not directed to children under 14, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. In Quebec, consent for minors under 14 must be given by a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Links to other sites
Our site may link to third-party sites and social media platforms that have their own privacy practices. We are not responsible for those practices, and we encourage you to read their policies.

14. Questions and complaints
If you have a question or complaint about how we handle your personal information, contact our Privacy Officer first (Section 1). We will investigate and respond. If you are not satisfied, you may contact:
•    Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: www.priv.gc.ca
•    Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec: www.cai.gouv.qc.ca
•    Your provincial privacy authority (for example, in Alberta or British Columbia).

15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it was last revised. If we make material changes, we will notify you on our site or by email where required, and we will seek your consent if the law requires it.

Bench is operated by Freemark Apparel Brands International