Response by Aldi
Our policies, such as the ALDI North Corporate Responsibility Policy, the ALDI SOUTH Corporate Responsibility Principles, our Human Rights Policy Statement as well as our ALDI Social Standards in Production, which are available on our websites, outline precise principles regarding our commitment to socially and environmentally responsible behaviour and set mandatory standards for our business partners.
Based on these principles, we have already conducted several ALDI Social Assessments in Eastern European countries over the past few years. No violations (e.g. intimidation, health risks or forced labour) listed in the report have ever been detected during any of these visits.
Out of the four countries mentioned in the report, there are currently three production facilities in two countries producing garment textiles for ALDI: one factory in Serbia produces tights and two factories in Bulgaria produce functional underwear. These factories were part of the ALDI Social Assessments conducted towards the end of 2018 and scored good to very good results. In all production facilities wages are paid according to national laws and no excessive overtime is worked.
Moreover, the publishers of the report have confirmed that none of the production facilities manufacturing products for ALDI were part of the investigation upon which the report is based. Therefore, we do not agree with the generalised statements made in the report...
[full response attached]