Response from adidas

Proposal C3: Report publicly on length of factory relationships.

Adidas says only that it “could consider” publishing average length of relationships with core suppliers but not its indirect supply chain (managed by licensees and agents). The company has no plans to track the location of factories by length of relationship.

Full response

"We could consider publishing the average length of our relationships with our main suppliers, that is, those suppliers through whom we directly source our product. However, as some of these relationships extend upward of 20 years and other relationships are comparatively recent, especially among specialty suppliers, we are not clear as to the value of creating such an ‘average’.

"Within our indirect supply chain - which is managed through intermediaries such as licensee and agents - we recognize that seasonality and the turnover in suppliers is much greater, with smaller order volumes. As a consequence, the average engagement may be shorter, but we do not track this specific data. We currently have no plans to generate data to map the location of factories by length of service."

Response Key

The brand claims to implementing all components of this proposal or has agreed to implement them within Play Fair's proposed timeframe.

The brand is currently implementing or has agreed to implement some of the essential components of the proposal but has refused to implement, has overlooked, or has raised issues with one or more important components; or, the brand agrees to implement the proposal but not within Play Fair’s proposed timeframe.

The brand has refused to implement the essential components of the proposal.

The brand has misunderstood or failed to comment on the proposal; or the brand is considering the proposal, but has yet to make a decision.