Dear Friend: 

The Reebok Human Rights Report 2005 describes the steps we have taken to secure the rights of workers and to improve working conditions in our supply chain.  It also describes how we augment our human rights commitment through the Reebok Human Rights Award program and with the philanthropic support from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation.

Our motivation for publishing this report is to engage in honest communication and to further the dialogue with students, educators, investors, employees, activists and consumers.  Importantly, we hope this report will be useful for companies seeking sustainable solutions for improving working workplace conditions. Our hope is that the description of our activities and the disclosure of our findings will inform all interested parties about ways that ongoing challenges can be addressed through collaboration, partnership and innovation.

The data in the report shows that the incidence of the most egregious violations such as forced labor or child labor are not numerous or widespread.   Our findings also point to the significant amount of work yet to be done, with the largest number of recorded issues in the areas of safety and health, fair wages, hours of work and overtime and non-discrimination.  The right of workers to freedom of association, while not high on the list of recorded issues, continues to be a major challenge to ensuring fair treatment of workers in global supply chains.

Since we began in 1988, we have been engaged in an unusual journey.  In the beginning, there were few rules to adopt and fewer examples to follow.  Instead, we experimented with ways to create a program whose impact could be meaningful and whose credibility would be unquestioned. Today, we are heartened by the fact that many businesses are engaged in applying the principles of human rights in their business practices.

It is not always simple or easy to address human rights issues in a business setting but it is always worth the effort.   I am deeply grateful for the vision and leadership of Reebok CEO Paul Fireman as well as the many employees at Reebok – past and current – who have contributed to the initiatives described in this report and have made human rights an everyday part of Reebok’s business.  We welcome your comments.

Sincerely,
Doug Cahn
Vice President, Human Rights Programs