Our Standards

The adidas Group and its brands have business relationships with manufacturers in many countries around the world. Outsourcing our production in no way absolves us of moral responsibility for the way our products are manufactured and the conditions they are produced under. Recognising this responsibility led us to create a set of guidelines for our suppliers that set minimum social, environmental and health and safety standards we expect them to achieve. We call these our 'Workplace Standards'.

Based on International Labour Organization conventions, the 'Workplace Standards' describe clear rules of conduct for issues such as the environment, safety in the workplace, child labour, and hours of work. By monitoring compliance with the Standards, we can identify potential problems in contract factories and help our suppliers implement positive changes. If they repeatedly fail to do so, we will terminate our contract with them. This however is always the last option we take from a range of other remedies. In short, the 'Workplace Standards' are a tool we use to select and retain only those suppliers whose workplace standards are consistent with our values.

The full 'Workplace Standards' 

The challenges we face