GOOD RATING FROM FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION

Jetzendorf, January 29, 2025 – LOWA has successfully completed the initial Brand Performance Check of the Fair Wear Foundation as the first dedicated footwear manufacturer with predominantly European production. With a score of 61 out of 100 points, the company achieved the second-highest rating category, "Good". Fair Wear evaluates the implementation of human rights due diligence within the garment and textile industry—assessing LOWA’s performance for its first membership year in 2023. This result highlights LOWA’s commitment to fair production and working conditions.

“Our position in the upper range of the ‘Good’ category in the evaluation by the Fair Wear Foundation confirms that we are on the right path,” says Alexander Nicolai, CEO of LOWA Sportschuhe GmbH. “We joined Fair Wear as the first pure footwear manufacturer with predominantly European production to identify valuable opportunities for improvement—for both our company and the industry—that we will address step by step in the coming years.”

The multi-stakeholder initiative Fair Wear works to advance human rights in the garment and textile industry. Its members undergo annual Brand Performance Checks that assess their progress towards improving working conditions across their supply chain and identify areas for improvement. For LOWA, challenges include implementing the Fair Wear’s requirements in a production environment shaped by well-established, medium-sized business structures.

“As part of the Fair Wear movement, we see it as our responsibility not only to improve our own processes but also to develop best practices for the entire industry,” Nicolai continues. Veronika Becker, Corporate Responsibility Manager at LOWA and responsible for supply chain management, adds: “It’s about tackling challenges and working with our partners and Fair Wear to create sustainable solutions. In this sense, the first Brand Performance Check marks an important milestone in a shared journey.”

“Since joining Fair Wear in 2023, LOWA has shown its commitment to impactful HRDD [Human Rights Due Diligence] by formalising its processes and focusing on collaboration with suppliers and other buyers,” as Anne Van Lakerveld, Brand Liaison at Fair Wear, summarises. “We look forward to further monitoring LOWA's progress.”
For the first time in November of last year, LOWA published a sustainability report titled Step by Step, in which the company transparently outlines its sustainability strategy and provides insights into the risks and opportunities within its supply chain.