Thank you for giving us the opportunity to comment on the findings of the “Labour on a shoestring” study...we welcome the aim of the study, which is to point out the precarious working conditions in the global footwear industry. As a company that predominately manufactures its products in its own production facilities in Germany, however, we feel that the study does not directly apply to us. The conditions mainly highlighted in eastern and southern Europe are not comparable in any way to the production realities in our own facilities. Our core products, sandals, which make up the vast majority of our overall revenue, are exclusively made in Germany. Preliminary products, such as buckles, rivets, upper material, etc., are also made in our own production facilities. This high level of in-house production depth, which is atypical of the footwear industry, allows us as a premium manufacturer to control the added value chain almost completely. Natural raw materials are purchased from long-standing partners in line with our Code of Conduct.

Birkenstock currently has around 3,000 employees, of which about 2,900 work in Germany. The approximately 100 remaining employees work in sales offices in Brazil, Spain, Hong Kong, and the USA. Our products are manufactured under optimal conditions in line with German employment legislation and EU law. Work compensation in our production facilities is also not comparable in any way to the conditions highlighted in the study. Our employees even in the lower wage brackets receive compensation that is significantly higher than the statutory minimum wage, with additional performance-related bonuses of up to 20% of their base wage. Furthermore, our employees receive additional benefits: in the last fiscal year, they received a general pay raise, plus a one-off bonus for their contributions to the business’s positive growth. All industrial employees receive 13 monthly salaries and are entitled to 30 days of leave. Older employees receive two additional days of leave from the age of 58.