The Fair Wear Foundation has been actively promoting fair working conditions in the textile industry for many years. Its stated goals are to help companies monitor and improve their supply chains, thus safeguarding labour rights. Responsibility for implementing workers’ rights lies with the companies themselves. At Maier Sports, this is part of the work of our CSR team, led by Lisa-Marie Dozier, as the labour rights we’re taking for granted in Germany still need to be to be established in many other countries.

One example for this is the banning of excessive working hours. There have been several cases of excessive workloads in the textile industry just over the past couple of years. This is in part because of seasonal peaks in production which require companies to over-commit their work capacity. As these companies work hard to meet their delivery deadlines, this can lead to an increased risk of individual workers getting assigned excessive workloads. And in many countries, workload limits aren’t monitored sufficiently by the authorities.

The Fair Wear Foundation uses annual performance reviews, production site auditing and worker grievance feedback systems to ensure the continual improvements of member companies. In other words, we’re trying to find strategies and solutions for improving working conditions together. This applies to all workers’ rights that we consider to be non-negotiable. These rights are based on the core labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations declaration of human rights. They are the basis for the 8 labour guidelines to which we at Maier Sports have committed ourselves as part of our membership In the Fair Wear Foundation.