Sportswear retailer Adidas Group has begun sourcing from Myanmar following two years of extensive stakeholder engagement in the country. The stakeholder engagement programme was composed of a lengthy process of examining and strengthening Adidas’s policies and approaches to ensure that, from the outset, the retailer is protecting the rights and interests of local stakeholders in Myanmar, as well the brand’s reputation as an industry leader in sustainability. The company announced the strategy as it published its updated global factory list, which details all the factories which manufacture products for Adidas. “Myanmar (Burma) is a newly developing country, one which is undergoing positive political change, but also one that has a legacy of human rights. If we want to do business in Myanmar, we need to set the bar higher when it comes to assurance,” said Bill Anderson, social and environmental affairs Head – Asia Pacific region, Adidas Group.
