Since April 1, 2022, the S.Oliver Group and its brands have been members of the Fair Wear Foundation, which advocates for the rights of workers in the textile industry worldwide. It joins almost 150 international brands that have become members, including Armedangels, Hessnatur, Jack Wolfskin, Nudie Jeans and Schöffel.
Founded in 1999, the Amsterdam-based non-profit organization is a multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together not only brands, but also factories, employees, unions, NGOs and other industry representatives, and advocates closer cooperation and coordination at different levels of the industry supply chain.
“We are delighted to welcome the s.Oliver Group as a new member committed to working with us to improve working conditions in the apparel industry. By combining Fair Wear’s 20 years of experience in this area with the influence of the s.Oliver Group on the joint supply chain of six major brands, this partnership represents a great opportunity to drive long-term, systemic change,” says Mariette van Amstel , Head of Membership at Fair Wear, in a statement.
At s.Oliver, the first steps in the cooperation with the Fair Wear Foundation will include setting up a central complaints mechanism and a program with selected suppliers that promotes social dialogue. In addition, through the cooperation, the company is also strengthening the social compliance program and its own due diligence approach in order to better meet the requirements of the supply chain law in Germany and at European level.
“For us in the s.Oliver Group, responsible management has always been an important element of our actions and our values. We are always working to improve, but we also know that we still have work to do. With the Fair Wear Foundation, we have a strong partner at our side for this,” comments S.Oliver COO Oliver Hein, who is responsible for the topics of supply chain and sustainability.
“Sustainability in the clothing industry is a global and multifaceted task. There are some subject areas that we have to tackle in our own processes and decision-making structures, but there are also many that can only be achieved in cooperation with strong partners. We look forward to taking on these tasks together with the Fair Wear Foundation and consistently driving change forward,” adds Sabrina Müller, Head of Sustainability at the s.Oliver Group.