Company profile: Fila
Headquarters: Seoul
Country: Korea
Founded in: 1911
Total points of sale in Europe: unknown
Owned by: Fila Korea Ltd is a private enterprise
Name of CEO: Steve Wynne
Product description: Fila develops, produces and distributes footwear, apparel, and accessories. The brand's performance categories include tennis, running, fitness and wellness, mountain, and golf.
Countries of production: Production countries are not known
General remark: Fila products are sold at sales outlets that include boutiques, athletic specialty, and department stores synonymous with upscale retail. There are also Fila stores.
Fila
1467-10, Seocho-Dong, Seocho-Gu.
Seoul ,137-070 - KOREA
Comments CCC and proposals for action
Fila has a very poor record where it comes to a transparent CSR policy and communication with labour rights organizations, whether in response to general labour issues or to concrete labour rights violations detected in its supply chain. Although the company displays a code of conduct on its website, it lacks all transparency with regard to the implementation of that code. The CCC therefore urgently calls upon Fila to engage with stakeholders, both at a global level and in its supply chain, and start working on a genuine implementation of international labour standards at its supplier factories.
Due to the lack of response by Fila to the CCC questionnaire, the following evaluation of the company’s corporate accountability policy is entirely based on a desk study conducted by the CCC in 2007. In the section “Recent developments” you can find additional information gathered after 2007.
Transparency
Fila has not responded to the CCC-questionnaire at all. The company lacks transparency with regard to turnover, profits, sales and corporate structure. The amount of salaries of the top management is not known. The company fails to disclose a list of producer countries and information on the structure of the supply chain.There is no comprehensive sustainability report available. Fila provides neither the results of factory audits nor information about verification activities. The company does not disclose general targets for future monitoring activities.
Formal commitment to labour standards
Fila has adopted a code of conduct that requires compliance with all relevant local labour laws, but does not indicate that where local and international standards are at variance the higher standard should prevail. The code does not include a reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The company is formally committed to respecting minimum labour standards in accordance with ILO Core Conventions. These include the right to organise and bargain collectively and prohibit child labour, discrimination, and forced labour. Fila’s code of conduct applies to all workers affected by labour practices for which the company has some measure of responsibility. The code of conduct includes measures to implement the code and monitor labour conditions in the facilities used.
Beyond the ILO Core Conventions, the company is only committed to paying the legal minimum wage or industry standard, i.e. not a living wage. There are no limits to overtime. The company’s code calls for a safe and hygienic environment for the workers who produce its garments and/or sportswear. The company does not explicitly require that all workers receive a regular employment contract.
Beyond the labour standards mentioned above, the company code is not precise enough on some specific issues. It does not state its commitment in relation to*:
- the provision of transitional measures that will be in the interest of the child and of her/his family where child labour is found;
- special provisions for workers under 18 years of age (e.g. education, no night work);
- specific steps to encourage decent working conditions in countries where freedom of association and collective bargaining are restricted by law;
- prohibiting the retention by employers of security deposits or identity papers;
- payment of overtime at a premium rate.
- guaranteeing a living wage during regular working hours without overtime;
- ending the worst forms of child labour with explicit reference to ILO core-convention 182.
Code implementation and purchasing practices
Fila did not indicate the steps it is taking to effectively implement minimum labour standards in its supply chain. The company has not disclosed whether its code of conduct has been translated into the languages of any of the countries it is sourcing from. There is no evidence that training on labour rights issues is promoted by Fila. According to the information given Fila has no intention to implement the payment of living wages to workers. Fila has not shown that it is aware of the fact that part of its production sites are located in countries or zones where freedom of association is not guaranteed by law. There are no provisions to give buyers positive incentives to reward better working conditions. There are no measures that show how to improve planning and prevent excessive overtime.
Monitoring and Verification
There is nothing known to CCC about monitoring results. The company is not involved in independent verification by a multi-stakeholder approach.
Violations of labour rights and public conflicts
The 3800 workers of the Indonesian factory Tae Hwa found themselves without work when they returned from a two-day holiday in February 2005. The factory still owns the workers wages and mandatory severance payments. The key violations were related to freedom of association and the right for collective bargaining, wages, and hours of work. The company did not react to the CCC after being informed about the violation, not even when pressured. The violations have not been corrected at all.
Recent developments
There are no recent developments with regard to Fila’s policy and practices to guarantee labour rights in its supply chain known to the CCC.