Production-conditions

Trust, honesty and respect

In the footwear industry, a great deal of expertise, precision, and—even in the 21st century—manual craftsmanship is required. That’s why the people who manufacture LOWA shoes are our greatest asset. We are committed to taking responsibility for fair working conditions throughout the entire supply chain. To ensure this, we developed our own LOWA Code of Conduct (CoC) in 2012. This binding code outlines our high ethical, environmental, and social standards, which apply to all production sites, partnerships, and supplier relationships.

In 2022, we completely revised and expanded our CoC, aligning it with the highest international standards regarding human rights and social values, environmental protection, and business practices. The standards set in the LOWA Code of Conduct apply not only to our production site in Germany but also to our own and external production facilities abroad. We also expect strict compliance with these guidelines there.

LOWA Code of Conduct (CoC)

LOWA requires its business partners and producers to sign the LOWA Code of Conduct (CoC), which is based on international standards such as the principles of the UN Global Compact, the ILO core labour standards (International Labour Organization) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The CoC regulates environmental and health protection issues as well as occupational safety requirements.

Of course, working hours and wages, overtime, special payments and allowances are also regulated in the CoC, as are protection against dismissal, continued payment of wages in the event of illness and maternity protection.

Non-discrimination, the prevention of bribery and corruption, the right to freedom of organisation and assembly, trade union freedom and the prohibition of child labour, forced labour and disciplinary measures are also important issues that are covered by our CoC.

The Code of Conduct is communicated to all employees in the respective national language. The content is also communicated via notices and, if necessary, training sessions.

Code of Conduct - DE

Code of Conduct - HU

Code of Conduct - AL-sq

Code of Conduct - SR-lat

Code of Conduct - UA-Ukr

Code of Conduct - VN

Code of Conduct - ZH_中文

Internal and external audits

We ensure compliance with the LOWA Code of Conduct through regular internal inspections, known as audits. We carry out these on-site visits to the production facilities at least every two years.

Since 2022, we have also started to have our production facilities audited by external parties. The support provided by independent auditors, known as third-party audits, not only serves the purpose of verification and transparency, but above all to identify development potential together with our production partners and address it in a targeted manner.

During tours of the factory, auditors gain an impression of the general working conditions and safety-related aspects. They inspect various documents such as pay slips and contract documents, talk to the company management and interview individual employees. LOWA ensures that at least one of the auditors always speaks the local language.

Member of the Fair Wear Foundation

Since the beginning of 2023, LOWA has been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, an international, independent, non-profit, multi-stakeholder initiative based in Amsterdam. The Fair Wear Foundation works with manufacturers and companies from the textile and footwear industry to improve working conditions along the entire supply chain.

Through our membership, we are committed to fair and responsible production processes along our entire supply chain and to their continuous improvement. The Fair Wear Foundation provides us with clear guidelines regarding labour and production conditions in our own factories and at our production partners. The results are published in so-called Brand Performance Checks.

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Audit results and evaluation

The audit results are documented and explained in a final discussion. Any violations are recorded in a corrective action plan and a report and must be rectified within a reasonable period of time. We support our business partners and producers in this process. We see the implementation of the Code of Conduct as a joint, partnership-based task to ensure fair working conditions along the supply chain.

In the event of serious violations of the CoC that are not improved despite our assistance, LOWA reserves the right to terminate the business relationship. However, all of the business relationships have existed for at least five years, most of them for ten years or more.

Contact point for complaints and information

LOWA assumes that all its employees and business partners behave with integrity and correct behaviour. Nevertheless, we are aware that in individual cases there may be violations of legal regulations and/or the guidelines set out in our Code of Conduct. Therefore, we would like to encourage all employees and business partners to raise their concerns with their direct supervisors, if possible, and to seek redress.
If this is not desired or possible, LOWA has set up an anonymous contact point for complaints and reports, which can be reached at this address and this QR code as well as the following telephone numbers:

Phone: +49 800 3800 999

Phone: +49 69 9999 8838

Legal Ombudsperson:

Karin Holloch

Lawyer

Rembrandtstraße 88

D-41466 Neuss (Germany)

Tel.: +49 2131 896 4901

Email: karin.holloch@business-integrity.lawyer

We encourage employees to report a complaint or tip-off if there has been a violation of our Code of Conduct. LOWA will take all reports seriously, follow up on them and protect the whistleblowers. No disciplinary action may be taken against whistleblowers, even by business partners.