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Factsheet: Workers' rights trampled underfoot - A brief inventory of the implementation of human rights due diligence obligations by 23 companies in the global footwear industry

In 2014, more than 24 billion pairs of shoes were produced. This shows the dynamics of the global market, which determines consumption with rapidly changing fashion trends in Europe and in all emerging markets with ever-increasing prosperity. Labour-intensive processes combined with time and price pressures influence the working and living conditions of workers, no matter where they are located. Global developments in this area also have an impact on working conditions within Europe, where decades of global undercutting competition have led to lower wages in low- and high-income economies. This creates an important phenomenon, namely the relocation to Europe. As a work-
We and human rights organisations are extremely concerned about the working conditions of the workers who produce our shoes wherever they live. It's time to change the way our shoes are made.
The Change Your Shoes project (CYS) has conducted an assessment of shoe companies to get an overview of the current state of the shoe industry in terms of social and environmental standards. It will also provide consumers with information on which brands are doing more and which are doing less to address the labour rights issues that exist across the global supply chain. 23 companies with a strong presence on the shopping streets of Europe were evaluated.

Editorial team: Aronsson, Charlie (Fair Trade Center); Hinzmann, Berndt (INKOTA network); Kreisler, Eva (Federación SETEM); Lucchetti, Deborah (Fair); Luginbühl, Christa (Bern Declaration); McMullen, Anna (Labour Behind the Label); Paluszek, Anna (Buy Responsibly Foundation); Pieper, Anton (SÜDWIND e.V. - Institute for Economics and Ecumenism)
German summary of the study “Trampling workers rigths underfoot”

Scope: 6 pages
Reference: free of charge for download at South Wind Institute.