SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION MEMBERSHIP

ODLO is a member, with leader status, of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF), which endeavours to improve labour conditions in the textile industry worldwide. FWF verifies that producers abide to their code of conduct and make appropriate improvements. As a multi-stakeholder initiative, FWF’s independence is guaranteed because it is governed by trade unions, NGOs and business associations. Transparency and accountability are key principles of the organisation.

FWF members work towards improving the labour conditions in factories that produce sewn textiles all over the world. The basis of the collaboration between FWF and its members is its code of labour practices. Eight labour standards form the core of this code of conduct. FWF members are contractually obliged to comply with these standards.

FWF verifies whether companies comply with the code of labour practices through factory audits and complaint procedures, through audits of its members’ management systems and through extensive stakeholder consultations in producer countries. FWF shares its knowledge and (local) contacts with its member companies, providing them with access to information on local legislation, labour legislation and culture.

Members are required to set up an effective monitoring system, including factory audits, factory trainings and factory visits. FWF has a complaint procedure that enables factory workers to anonymously report any abuses related to labour conditions. To raise workers‘ awareness of labour rights, FWF also offers Workplace Education Programme.

BRAND PERFORMANCE CHECK

 

THE ODLO SUPPLIER CODE OF CONDUCT

As early as the 1990s, ODLO signed a code of conduct with its manufacturers. In 2009 it was revised to get in line with the requirements of the Fair Wear Foundation and was re-signed by each of the manufacturers. This most restrictive code on the market is based on the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    • There shall be no use of forced, including bonded or prison, labour (ILO Conventions 29 and 105).

      The right of all workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively shall be recognised. (ILO Conventions 87 and 98) The company shall, in those situations in which the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining are restricted under law, facilitate parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining for all workers. Workers’ representatives shall not be the subject of discrimination and shall have access to all workplaces necessary to carry out their representative functions. (ILO Convention 135 and Recommendation 143)

      Recruitment, wage policy, admittance to training programmes, employee promotion policy, policies of employment termination, retirement, and any other aspect of the employment relationship shall be based on the principle of equal opportunities, regardless of race, colour, sex, religion, political affiliation, union membership, nationality, social origin, deficiencies or handicaps. (ILO Conventions 100 and 111)

      A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided, and best occupational health and safety practice shall be promoted, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards. Appropriate attention shall be paid to occupational hazards specific to this branch of the industry and assure that a safe and hygienic work environment is provided for. Effective regulations shall be implemented to prevent accidents and minimise health risks as much as possible (following ILO Convention 155) Physical abuse, threats of physical abuse, unusual punishments or discipline, sexual and other harassment, and intimidation by the employer are strictly prohibited.

    • There shall be no use of child labour. The age for admission to employment shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, not less than 15 years. (ILO Convention 138) There shall be no forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour. […] Children [in the ages of 15-18] shall not perform work which, when carried out, is likely to harm their health, safety or morals. (ILO Convention 182)

      Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week shall meet at least legal or industry minimum standards and always be sufficient to meet basic needs of workers and their families and to provide some discretionary income. (ILO Conventions 26 and 131) Deductions from wages for disciplinary measures shall not be permitted nor shall any deductions from wages not provided for by national law be permitted. Deductions shall never constitute an amount that will lead the employee to receive less than the minimum wage. Employees shall be adequately and clearly informed about the specifications of their wages including wage rates and pay period.

      Hours of work shall comply with applicable laws and industry standards. In any event, workers shall not on a regular basis be required to work in excess of 48 hours per week and shall be provided with at least one day off for every seven-day period. Overtime shall be voluntary, shall not exceed 12 hours per week, shall not be demanded on a regular basis and shall always be compensated at a premium rate. (ILO Convention 1).

      Obligations to employees under labour or social security laws and regulations arising from the regular employment relationship shall not be avoided through the use of labour-only contracting arrangements, or through apprenticeship schemes where there is no real intent to impart skills or provide regular employment. Younger workers shall be given the opportunity to participate in education and training programmes.

 

WORLD OF MANUFACTURING



MANUFACTURER LIST

ODLO is proud to disclose its contracted manufacturer. The list contains the location of the main contractors and, in case applicable, main production sites of subsidiaries.

  • ASIA

    • ASMARA - INDONESIA
    • Jiangsu Asian Sourcing Headwear MFG Co. Ltd. - CHINA
    • Delta Galil Industries LTD - VIETNAM, CHINA
    • Madison 88 - CHINA
    • Bodyline Pvt Ltd. - SRI LANKA
    • MAS Active (Pvt) Limited – Linea Intimo & Kreeda Intimo - SRI LANKA
    • MAS Fabrics MATRIX - SRI LANKA
    • MFD Mode Fashion Design - CHINA
    • Prima - CHINA
    • PASASPORT SRL - CHINA
    • Perfect Footwear International Co., Ltd - CHINA
    • Right Sports Apparels - INDIA
    • SEES Global Inc. - VIETNAM, CAMBODIA
    • Shin Textile Solutions Co. Ltd. - VIETNAM
    • Usha Garments - INDIA
    • VT Garment Co,. Ltd - THAILAND, MYANMAR
    • Yehpattana Tayeh - THAILAND, VIETNAM
  • EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST

    • ODLO Portugal Texteis Lda - PORTUGAL
    • ODLO Rumania Srl - ROMANIA
    • Cifra SPA - ITALY, ALBANIA
    • Cottontex SRL - ROMANIA
    • GW Sports Brands GmbH - GERMANY
    • Intersocks - SLOVENIA, ITALY, TURKEY
    • Memteks Tekstil San. Ve Tic.a.s. - TURKEY, GEORGIA
    • Noon GmbH - GERMANY
    • PASASPORT SRL - ITALY
    • Sln Tekstil Ve Moda San. Tic.A.S - TURKEY

 

SOURCING STRATEGY

ODLO sourcing is based on a dual-principle strategy. This system covers the wide range of products in each ODLO collection.

PRINCIPLE 1: OWN PRODUCTION

When possible, in terms of capacity and competitiveness, new garments or additional production volumes are manufactured in our own production.

PRINCIPLE 2: LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS

ODLO aims for long-term partnerships with a small number of manufacturers and prefers to keep the portfolio small. Together with an early involvement of the manufacturer in the product development process, the sourcing strategy enables manufacturers to plan for the long-term, which increases their stability and job security.

PRODUCTION TRANSPARENCY

ODLO strives for full production transparency and therefore manufacturers are to disclose all production sites. Subcontracting is only allowed by pre-notice and is analysed by the sourcing team case by case. ODLO lists these subcontractor exceptions in its supplier register to include them in the CSR management system step-by-step.

PRICING POLICY

ODLO calculates its price using the “open costing” principle. This means that the sales price is calculated individually for every product, listing the material and labour costs, overheads and the profit margin. The prices are negotiated directly with manufacturers.

 

SOCIAL MONITORING

An important component of the implementation of the Supplier Code of Conduct is monitoring. ODLO follows FWF’s verification system, a multi-level approach consisting of three levels; management audits of brand (Brand Performance Check), factory audits & complaints procedures. Those verifications are all held by FWF acting as a third-party organisation.


A FWF audit reviews the social standard of the manufacturing sites. Conducted by local FWF teams, the methodology is shared for all countries. To get an insight into the organization, the auditors conduct offsite worker interviews before the factory visit.

During the factory visit, they interview the managers and workers, inspect the documents and follow up with a visual inspection of the factory site.

The result is given to ODLO in an audit report and a corrective action plan. Both documents are then shared and regularly followed up with the manufacturer with the aim to continuously improve the working conditions.


By placing local complaints handlers in countries where FWF is active, workers making products for ODLO can safely and fairly seek redress for violations of the Code of Conduct. In all production sites, ODLO ensures an information sheet is posted where workers can find the labour rights listed and the phone number of the local complaint handler.


How can workers and managers talk to each other and resolve problems together? FWF’s WEP is a short, targeted, on-site training during which workers are trained to recognize violations of their rights, and to resolve them constructively. In the same training, managers are supported in the development of healthy internal structures that reduce conflict.

For the people who make our clothes, a living wage means freedom. The freedom to take care of themselves and to invest in their future. It is time now to work towards this goal. Innovation is in our DNA, we strive to always be one step ahead, this is one reason why we joined the Fair Wear who is a game changer in this field. We as Fair Wear member brand are committed to taking steps to pay living wages. We want the people working in our own factory to be able to have a decent life with the wages they earn. Read more about our efforts in the latest Sustainability Report.

THE FULL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019

Each year, FWF visits the ODLO headquarters to verify the systems and its effectiveness on how the FWF Code of Labour Practices is being implemented into internal management systems to support good workplace conditions for the manufacturer.

ODLO Brand Performance Check 2019

 

COVID-19 DUE DILIGENCE

The COVID-19 outbreak has had an enormous impact on our business and our supply chain all over the world; with the shops that sell our products having to close and most of our factories stopping production due to lockdown or working restrictions, and our brand teams working remotely from home. This pandemic affects us all and ODLO recognises the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on our supply chain and workers. Therefore, especially in these times of crisis, we uphold our responsibility towards the garment workers producing our clothes.

The foremost important thing is to maintain a frequent, transparent and open dialogue with our supply chain partners to, on the one hand, being updated on the local situation where the production takes place, but also to update on purchasing practices, sourcing decisions and ODLO’s overall business situation.

We fulfil our responsible purchasing practices, all ODLO orders completed or in progress have been paid in full. ODLO did not ask for discounts on orders already delivered or prepared. Collaboratively we worked through this extremely difficult and unsecure period with our partners.

Monitoring as we know it became impossible until recently. With lockdowns and travel restrictions, planned audits, trainings and factory visits were cancelled or postponed. To still live up to our due diligence procedure, we worked in close collaboration with our supply chain partners to ensure effective COVID-19 policies are in place and health & safety measures are taken and implemented on the workfloor, always respecting the local requirements. The Fair Wear complaint hotline remained open during lock down, ODLO received three COVID-19 related complaints until now – all details can be found in the Complaint section. Fair Wear also conducted an in-depth survey with all suppliers to get additional insights on the individual situations and problems suppliers were facing. In case of identified high risks, members were informed to remediate. Next to the threat of the virus itself is also the potential financial risks for the workers due to possible wage or job losses due to factory closures where assessed throughout the supply chain. Since March, Fair Wear provides regular calls between member brands to support information exchange and guidance. Country specific information was provided and a series of COVID-19 webinars were offered to support members on purchasing practices, to identify potential job and wage losses, action to redress lost jobs or wages, forecasting, costing and responsible exit strategies.

Our journey in this ‘new normal’ continues with the new business year 2020/21 and strong collaboration with our supply chain partners as well as with other member brands to find innovative solutions to ensure fair working condition, because they are needed now more than ever before.

 


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