Responding to enquiries

Customers

In 2007, we responded to each enquiry, whether they were submitted by individual consumers or retailers. Major subjects of enquiries were:

  • Product safety – the adidas Group’s policy on restricted substances, especially with reference to China
  • Environmental issues – the adidas Group’s programme on the elimination of PVC
  • The company’s supplier monitoring and assessment programme
  • The integration of the social and environmental programmes of adidas and Reebok
  • Issues related to the Group’s sponsorship of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
  • The adidas Group’s internal employee code of conduct
  • Specific supplier cases.

Media

Through the course of 2007, we received more than 20 enquiries from the media on specific social and environmental issues – primarily the international press, radio and television - and granted 12 formal interviews. The nature of the enquiries have been wide ranging including the adidas Group’s environmental policies, factory closures in Indonesia and Thailand, China’s new Contract Labour Law, NGO concerns related to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, pollution abatement in China, product safety and collegiate-licensing arrangements in the United States.

On three occasions during the year, national TV stations visited factories and filmed working conditions in Vietnam and Olympic production in China.

Non-Governmental Organisations

NGOs, worker rights groups, campaigners, student groups and the academic community were active through the year, raising questions and presenting proposals regarding workplace conditions. Examples of enquiries include:

  • Questions over the closure of Thai Silp, a former adidas supplier whose contract was terminated in 2006
  • Concerns regarding social security and working conditions at the swimwear supplier Fook Wah in Southern China
  • The reinstatement of workers dismissed by PT Panarub, a supplier independently monitored by the Worker Rights Consortium
  • Repeated allegations by an NGO concerning the closure of garment factories in El Salvador (Hermosa) and in Honduras (BJ&B)
  • Concerns related to the closure of three Reebok footwear suppliers in Indonesia in 2006, which resulted in large-scale layoffs and worker protests.

Our public responses to these concerns can be found in the Statements section on our corporate website.