People

Fair working conditions

We firmly believe that textiles should be fair for everyone. Unfortunately, even we are unable to exclusively manufacture at our company head office in Isny, where we can keep a direct eye on the working conditions. We therefore also collaborate with partner companies worldwide.

Despite such partnerships bringing certain challenges, we are still passionate about our vision: We are committed to ensuring that the highest social standards are observed during the production of our textile products such as climbing harnesses, clothing, via ferrata sets, and Red Chili climbing shoes, and that everyone involved in the production processes receives a fair wage. As a result, we have been an official member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) since mid-2021. This represents an active commitment to fair conditions—wherever in the world people are based!

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FWF is a dynamic multi-stakeholder initiative—a voluntary partnership between governmental players, NGOs, companies, and more, all with a global commitment to improving working conditions in the field of textile production.

FWF works at various levels to achieve its objectives: It conducts regular and transparent inspections and assessments, and reports on the progress of its member companies. It furthermore acts as a valuable teaching and knowledge platform for various players who deal with the highest standards with regard to shared supply chain responsibility and the practical implementation of this. FWF also creates a networking space for suppliers, companies, and public stakeholders.

FWF takes a versatile approach to tackling abuse in the labor market. The key elements of this commitment include the following:

Multi-Stakeholder DNA

One of FWF’s central approaches is to bring together different players and groups. This enables the members to directly benefit from each other’s expertise in order to pursue their common goal: Fair working conditions in the supply chain. FWF also places great value on strong relations with organizations in the production countries. This is because the success and effectiveness of the FWF system ultimately depend on local stakeholders’ ability to effect real change on the ground.

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Process-Oriented Approach

Permanent change does not occur overnight and ‘100% fair’ clothing remains an objective that is nigh-on impossible to achieve. FWF’s process-oriented approach therefore focuses on the practical steps that companies can use to actively prevent problems at production sites. The process-oriented approach can be adapted to many different companies because it picks them up where they stand. Whether a company has already been doing CR work for decades or is at the very start of its journey, FWF helps to define the areas in which the changes that it has initiated have the greatest impact.

Verification

Companies’ commitment to ethical practices, for example through the introduction of a human rights due diligence (HRDD) policy, is crucial. However, they only really gain credibility when audited by a third party.

The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) verification system is based on three main levels: First, FWF performs extensive audits at the production sites and establishes an effective complaints system in all countries in which it is active. It also conducts assessments at company level to determine whether the FWF codex for working conditions and the requirements stipulated for implementing human rights due diligence are successfully integrated into companies’ management systems.

Transparency

Transparency is a key aspect of corporate responsibility. However, as many clothing and textile companies regard part of their competitive advantage as lying in their supply chains, transparency is one of FWF’s greatest challenges for its members.

FWF is actively committed to helping its members strike a balance between transparency and trade secrets while also optimizing transparency in the supply chains.

The 8 Fair Wear Labor Standards

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We strongly oppose any form of forced labor, including all forms of serfdom, prison labor, slave labor, bonded labor, and human trafficking as well as any form of involuntary work or services that do not meet internationally recognized labor and social standards. Free choice is our top priority: All employees must work of their own accord. We therefore take a close look at the working conditions along our entire supply chain and use audits to review employment conditions, wages, and regulations.

All employers in our supply chain have the right to conduct collective bargaining in a fair and peaceful manner—without any fear of disciplinary action, penalties, or interventions, either for the employees or their representatives. If the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted by law, alternative methods of independent and free association as well as negotiation must be created for all employees.

We are committed to equality! The workplace must be a safe space where everyone is treated with respect. We require our suppliers to recognize workers’ distinct needs. Different cultures bring with them different social realities, gender roles, and specific challenges for certain groups. We therefore encourage our partners to treat all employees with respect and respond to their individual needs, regardless of their role within the company or the situation that they are in.

All companies in the supply chain are actively committed to strict compliance with child labor laws. Specifically, this means: People under the age of 15 are not employed at any point in the supply chain and employment will not be given to anyone who has not completed their compulsory schooling or reached the legal minimum age. Furthermore, younger employees under the age of 18 may only perform certain work. This shall not include work for more than eight hours a day, that involves a higher safety risk, or that is physically demanding. To ensure this, employers must, at all times, be able to present official documents showing the date of birth of all employees. These documents will be inspected at random within the scope of audits. Strict controls are particularly required in the case of subcontracts and work conducted from home, and we try to avoid such work wherever possible.

We are actively committed to integrating the concept of living wages into our supply chain. A living wage is a wage that enables employees to cover their living costs and meet their basic needs while still leaving them with a reasonable income for personal expenditure. Such wages are usually far higher than the statutory minimum wage. To achieve this, we analyze the local minimum wages and the estimated living wages from our suppliers, and compare these with the salaries determined by our audits. We furthermore inform our suppliers about the benefits of living wages for their company and sustainably motivate them to pursue this objective.

We set clear standards for working hours and overtime that are based on legal specifications. This means: Maximum 48 hours per week and at least one day off for every six consecutive working days. Overtime is restricted to no more than 12 hours per week and employees can choose whether to accept or decline it. Our employers ensure that the legal entitlements to annual leave and other leave (such as maternity or illness) are granted. We also ensure appropriate breaks, especially for those who require special support, such as pregnant employees or nursing mothers.

Employers must treat employees with respect and appreciation, and offer them a safe and healthy working environment. All applicable laws and regulations on working conditions must be observed in the factories. It is important to develop clear standards and procedures to protect employees against hazards such as fire, accidents, toxic substances, and industry-specific risks. Suitable lighting, heating, and ventilation systems must be provided. Employees must furthermore have access to clean and adequate sanitary facilities at all times. Similar standards apply in cases where accommodation is provided.

Obligations to employees under labor or social security laws and regulations must be observed. It is not acceptable to circumvent them by concluding labor-only contracts or through apprenticeship schemes where there is no real intent to impart skills or provide regular employment.

Reports & Documents

Social Report

EDELRID has been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) since mid-2021. We took joining FWF as an opportunity to formulate internal objectives for the development of social conditions along our supply chain. We are delighted to present our work in the field of social performance and working conditions as transparently as possible in our second EDELRID Social Report.

Download the Social Report

Brand Performance Check

We are incredibly proud to have achieved the result ‘GOOD’ in our second Brand Performance Check by Fair Wear. It feels great for an independent body to have confirmed that the measures we are taking to meet our due diligence obligations to promote responsible working conditions in the supply chain are going in the right direction and that we have effectively worked on our weaknesses. In particular, we were able to improve with regard to our risk assessment in accordance with OECD guidelines and the tracking and root cause analysis of complaints during supplier audits as well as the systematic structure of our supplier monitoring activities. However, we will not rest on our laurels having achieved this good result, but instead continue our commitment to taking action, learning, and authenticity to make us a more socially responsible company and once again prove this in the next Brand Performance Check in 2025.

Download the Brand Performance Check

HRDD Policy

We are aware that companies (can) impact human rights through their activities and relationships along the value chain. Together with our partner companies, we are committed to ensuring compliance with all legal requirements and specially defined ethical standards. With the aid of our due diligence process, we are able to identify, prevent, mitigate, or consciously address adverse impacts on our supply chain. The HRDD policy forms the basis for our commitment to the preservation of human rights and describes our obligation to human rights due diligence.

This HRDD process will initially focus on textile and shoe production although we plan to gradually and carefully extend these measures to other product groups and their production processes.

Download the HRDD Policy