Adidas has launched an ambitious social and environmental responsibility plan in Cambodia. The structure of the company is being reshaped, from the top down, so that leadership will now also come from the bottom up.

The aim is to reassure consumers that Adidas products are the most ethical brand they can buy. The brand has signed a binding commitment to fair labour practices, wages and compensation in the supply chain. The agreement, which has been drafted with trade unions and labour rights organisations, will ensure all workers receive the full wages and severance owed to them since the pandemic began, and will establish a severance guarantee fund to cover all textile, garment, shoe and leather workers in Adidas’ global supply chain.

Adidas will further correct course by making an immediate payment to Cambodian workers whose wages were withheld by suppliers during the pandemic. Adidas will take immediate and decisive steps to ensure workers’ demands for better working conditions, higher wages and respect for their rights are met unequivocally. The agreement will also protect workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. These steps are meant to benefit everyone in the supply chain, shareholders and customers, who feel that increasing returns are not at odds with increasing human rights’ protection.