Protecting Children's Rights: The Otto Group in the Fight Against Child Labor

🟨 Policies and Awareness: The Otto Group is updating its internal policies and processes and training its employees worldwide on children’s rights and child labor.

🟨 Risk analysis and training: Through systematic risk analyses, the Group identifies regions and partners with an increased risk of child labor. Targeted training sessions are conducted in these areas to raise awareness and impart practical knowledge. These include programs such as Save the Children’s WeCare andinitiativesby amfori.

🟨Support for families: In collaboration with its business partners, the Otto Group promotes family-friendly working conditions at production sites. One example is the School instead of Child Labour Fund, which supports the Child Rights Action Hub in Bangladesh to reduce child labor risks and create support services for at-risk children.

🟨 The WeCare Program: Between 2020 and 2021, this program was successfully implemented in twelve factories in China and Turkey. It supported parents with needs assessments, family-friendly measures in the workplace, training on parenting and communication, as well as targeted emergency assistance such as financial support, psychological counseling, and school supplies. In total, approximately 840 employees and nearly 2,000 children benefited directly or indirectly from the program.

🟨 Inspections and complaint procedures: The Otto Group conducts regular social audits (i.e., inspections to verify compliance with social standards in the supply chain or within its own operations) in high-risk countries. These audits verify compliance with the minimum age requirement and verify the age of workers. If child labor is detected, the “zero tolerance” policy applies: The case is prioritized and monitored until resolved. The Group’s internal whistleblower system, Speak Up, also allows for the anonymous reporting of suspected cases in over 30 languages.