Adidas uses texting to report social abuses

Test project in Indonesia

Adidas started the system in the second half of
2012 for employees of a factory of sports shoes in Indonesia. Employees were
able to send a text to Adidas if they felt their rights were being violated.

That way the company will get notified much
quicker when something is awry and this way, the company can respond to problems before they become
an issue for a large part of the employees and public opinion. The project was
inspired by the International Labour Organisation and the fact that most
factory workers have a mobile phone and are active users of texting.

During the testing period, most texts were used to
ask questions about restructuring, working hours and insurance, but also to
make suggestions to management. Because of its success Adidas is expanding the
project to five other factories in Indonesia and Vietnam.