Human Rights
At adidas, respecting and upholding human rights is fundamental to how we do business. From our employees to the workers who manufacture our products, we are committed to safeguarding human rights across our entire value chain.
Human Rights
At adidas, respecting and upholding human rights is fundamental to how we do business. From our employees to the workers who manufacture our products, we are committed to safeguarding human rights across our entire value chain.
For over 25 years, we’ve worked to uphold human and labor rights in our operations and value chain. Through our Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) process, we identify, assess, and mitigate risks to ensure responsible business conduct. We comply with global and national regulations, including the German Supply Chain Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltpflichtengesetz - LkSG). To reinforce our due diligence efforts, we have set a clear goal for 2025.
OUR COMMITMENT: BY 2025, 100% OF OUR VALUE CHAIN AND OWN OPERATIONS WILL HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE TO IDENTIFY AND MANAGE HIGH-RISK HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
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How We Embed Human Rights in Our Business
Our Human Rights Policy, endorsed by the Executive Board, defines expectations for employees and business partners across all operations. This policy is shaped by insights from key stakeholders, business functions, employee representatives, civil society, and human rights experts to ensure we address the most pressing human rights issues. Beyond our core policy, our commitment is reinforced through other policies and standards.
Accountability and Awareness of Human Rights
Our Executive Board sets the overall human rights and environmental strategy. Operational responsibility rests with our General Counsel, who serves as the Human Rights Officer (HRO). The HRO monitors human rights and environmental risks, reporting regularly to the Executive Board. Dedicated risk owners oversee human rights and environmental risks across our operations and value chain, conducting annual risk assessments, implementing preventive measures, and tracking compliance. Creating a workplace that respects human rights starts with educating our employees. All new employees are trained on human rights, including adidas's Human Rights Policy and Fair Play Code of Conduct.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE (HREDD)
Since its inception in 1997, our human and labor rights program has been built on the back of intense stakeholder outreach and engagement, seeking to understand and define the most salient issues to address as a company. Through those engagements we have identified the following as salient issues for our human rights program and the focus for our human rights and environmental due diligence efforts: labor rights, wages, discrimination and harassment, freedom of association and collective bargaining, occupational health and safety, child labor, forced labor and human trafficking, the environment, including climate change, water, the use of hazardous chemicals, and waste, privacy, corruption, and sports sponsorship.
MANAGING HUMAN RIGHTS IN A COMPLEX GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN
With products sourced from over 40 countries and sold in more than 100 markets, we take a risk-based approach to prioritize high-risk locations, processes, and activities.
- Identifying high-risk areas: We assess risks based on geography, including country-specific labor laws and regulatory environments; industry and working conditions, such as supplier performance and worker treatment; and stakeholder engagement, where insights from NGOs, local communities, and human rights reports help us gain real-world perspectives. This data-driven approach helps us prioritize the most urgent risks in our operations and value chain.
- Our Targeted Response Strategy: To meet this commitment, we focus on prevention, mitigation, and remediation by strengthening policies and supplier contracts to reinforce compliance, conducting regular audits and impact assessments in high-risk areas, empowering workers through grievance mechanisms and training to improve conditions, and taking swift intervention and corrective action when violations are found.
- The Importance of Vulnerable Groups and At-Risk Communities: Certain groups in our supply chain face greater risks of exploitation, including migrant workers, women, and Indigenous peoples. We provide special protections for these communities by requiring suppliers to uphold fair treatment for all workers, providing access to grievance mechanisms without fear of retaliation, and collaborating with NGOs and local advocates to drive systemic change.
Our commitment to human rights and environmental protection goes beyond our direct operations. We collaborate with partners, suppliers, and stakeholders to embed due diligence practices upstream and downstream in our product creation process. Our greatest influence comes from working with suppliers and business partners to ensure fair wages, ethical labor practices, and safe working conditions across our supply chain. Read more about this in the Workers in the Supply Chain page. In our corporate offices, retail stores, and distribution centers, we uphold human rights standards to ensure fair treatment and a safe work environment. Explore our approach to on our Inclusion and Culture page.
GRIEVANCE MECHANISMS ACROSS OUR OWN OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN
We are committed to providing for, or cooperating in, the remediation of adverse human rights impacts which we have caused or contributed to, and we will seek to promote or cooperate in the mitigation and remediation of adverse impacts where we are linked to these through our business relationships. We provide multiple confidential reporting channels for individuals to raise concerns. When we are linked to human rights violations, we take swift action to prevent harm and ensure remediation.
THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINTS MECHANISM
Our third-party complaints mechanism provides a confidential channel for affected individuals, advocacy groups, and organizations to report human rights and environmental concerns linked to adidas' operations, products, or services. We are committed to transparency and report annually on the number and status of third-party complaints received, actions taken, and resolutions. Most cases originate from trade unions, labor groups, and human rights organizations. Explore our Third Party Reports in our Reports Archive.
See how we handle third-party complaints
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GRIEVANCE MECHANISMS IN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
Suppliers to adidas are required to have grievance systems in place where workers can freely and – should they decide to – anonymously submit any complaints or suggestions they may have. Workers in the supply chain may also raise concerns or complaints directly with adidas via local hotlines, which are run by non-profit organizations or our own field staff. In addition, we deploy a digital, app-based operational grievance mechanism at all our strategic supplier sites.
Our Reach (2024 values)
FAIR PLAY: GRIEVANCE MECHANISM FOR EMPLOYEES
For our own employees, the global Fair Play Hotline provides a confidential and anonymous channel to report concerns. All cases of non-compliance are monitored and addressed by a global network of compliance officers, ensuring accountability and appropriate follow-up across the company.
OUR HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRESS AND PERFORMANCE
At adidas, transparency drives accountability. We track and share progress through stakeholder engagement, third-party audits, and public reporting.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Open engagement with workers, civil society, investors, and industry partners is central to our human rights approach. We hold regular consultations, participate in multi-stakeholder initiatives, and collaborate with advocacy groups to strengthen human rights protections.
TRANSPARENCY AND DISCLOSURE
Our human rights disclosures are independently verified and integrated into the adidas Annual Report, ensuring transparency regarding our progress. Additionally, we maintain an archive of Sustainability Reports to track our long-term commitments and actions.
EXTERNAL RECOGNITION AND RANKINGS
Our efforts are recognized in global rankings. In the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, we are recognized for effectively managing human rights across our operations and supply chain. In the Know the Chain Benchmark, we are acknowledged for our work in eradicating forced labor and human trafficking from supply chains.
Addressing Forced Labor and Modern Slavery in Our Supply Chain
Since the late 1990s, we have actively worked to identify and address the risks of forced labor, child labor, and migrant labor across our supply chain. Our modern slavery program, launched in 2016, tackles forced labor risks throughout our own supply chain, extending beyond our Tier 1 suppliers.
Read our latest Modern Slavery Report.
See our UK Modern Slavery Act Statement.
Our Modern Slavery report archive is available in the Resource Center.