Fair working conditions, also at our suppliers

What we do not produce ourselves, we outsource to suppliers with whom we have long-standing relationships. For instance, about 15 per cent of our shoes are manufactured in Portugal and Asia. We also cooperate with suppliers who source us with shoe components such as shoe shafts, soles, jewellery parts, leather, and other materials. We have shafts (shoe uppers) manufactured by selected companies in India. We have more partner companies that are located in Italy, Vietnam and China, among others.
We also attach great importance to ensuring that our suppliers produce in accordance with our quality standards and our high environmental and social standards. We set these standards with a written, internationally-applicable Code of Conduct.

Here you can find more information about the Code of Conduct

Insights into our suppliers

Italy

Portugal

Gabor | Partner company in Portugal | © Gabor Shoes AG, Rosenheim

India

Vietnam

China

Where do our social standards come from?

We are guided by the following internationally-recognised standards:

Unviersal Declaration of Human Rights
ILO core labour standards
UN Guiding Principles
OECD Guidelines for multinational businesses

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights regulates the fundamental rights of every human being. It includes, for example, the right to liberty, equality and solidarity, but also the prohibition of slavery or the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The Declaration contains a total of 30 paragraphs, which were developed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1948.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations that has as its objective the promotion of social justice, human and labour rights. Its main task is to formulate and enforce international labour and social standards. These standards form the basis for essential parts of our Code of Conduct (e.g. ILO Conventions 29 and 105).
The UN Guiding Principles represent an instrument to remedy and prevent human rights violations in the business context. The 31 principles describe obligations and responsibilities of states and companies and provide recommendations for their implementation. They were adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011.
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are an international instrument for promoting responsible corporate governance. The principles deal with the topics of responsible entrepreneurship in foreign operations in the areas of human rights, social affairs, environment, anti-corruption, taxation, consumer interests, reporting, research, and competition. The Guidelines describe recommendations for action for the 35 OECD member states and thirteen other participating countries, and they target multinational companies operating in or from a participating country.
Apart from this, we have incorporated complementary standards from our experience and from our dialogue with external parties and, e.g. NGOs into our guidelines.

What do our social standards regulate?

Code of Conduct - Our guidelines on social standards in the supply chain

With a written Code of Conduct, as it is referred to internationally, all contractors, suppliers, sub-suppliers, and licensees are controllably obliged to comply with the requirements. The regulations are continuously updated and represent a fixed part of the contract with our suppliers.

Among other things, the Code of Conduct regulates:

Right to form and belong to trade unions
Right to collective bargaining on pay and working conditions

Voluntary work by employees

Regulations as of which age employees may be hired
Information on special protection for young workers

Prohibition of discrimination of any kind
Call for equal pay for men and women

Regulations on regular working hours and
Overtime and its remuneration

statutory minimum wage as the lower limit

Information on the employment relationship for employees (e.g. employment contracts, information on the job, etc.)
Neither insecurities nor social or economic risks associated with the employment relationship

Appropriate measures to protect employees
Ensuring personal protective equipment (e.g. gloves)
Special protection for vulnerable persons such as young workers, young mothers and pregnant women and people with disabilities
Occupational medical care

Dealings characterised by dignity and respect
Admissibility of disciplinary measures only in written and comprehensible form

The Code of Conduct contains the following additional topics:

Ethical business practices
Environmental protection
Animal protection

How are our social standards monitored?

Gabor employees regularly carry out unannounced checks and inspections to monitor compliance with the Code of Conduct. In addition, audits are carried out by our central sustainability management and by independent institutions.

Would you like to find out more?

Here you can access Gabor's detailed Code of Conduct.

Cooperation with cads

When it comes to social and environmental issues or the avoidance of pollutants, we are committed to progress; not only within the company itself, but also throughout the industry. Gabor is a founding member of the cads initiative. Its objective is to manufacture and market sustainable, pollutant-free, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible shoes, shoe materials and leather goods.
Standards are defined for all cads members in the "Social" and "Environmental" working groups. We are actively involved in these subject areas and contribute our knowledge and experience in an exchange with other companies.