Reebok: 'staff have worked hard to ensure respect for union rights.'

Reebok staff have worked hard to ensure respect for trade union rights in a number of supplier factories in Asia. The company has also worked with labour rights groups to improve the legal situation in countries that restrict trade union rights.

Now that Reebok has been taken over by Adidas it’s hoped that this continues. Unfortunately, Reebok's good work in Asia has been undermined by the company’s opposition to trade unions in its US distribution centres.

Nike:'recently cut orders to factories where workers have established trade unions.'

Like Reebok, these brands have made some improvement by being more open about their working practices. They’ve also helped to stop anti-union discrimination in some factories and allowed some workers to receive training about their rights.

However, even these companies work in areas where independent unions are banned, and both Puma and Nike have recently cut orders to factories where workers have established trade unions.

Mizuno: 'reluctant to make enough information publicly available.'

These brands (Pentland owns brands including Speedo and Lacoste) have demonstrated some level of interest in co-operating with trade unions and human rights groups to improve working conditions.

However, for some of these brands their programmes to improve working
conditions are just beginning, so it is too early to assess how serious they are about ending sweatshops. These brands have also been reluctant to make enough information publicly available so that Oxfam can report on how many workers in the factories they use can claim their rights, or form (and join) trade unions. These brands are less open about their working practices than Nike, Adidas, Puma, Asics and Umbro.

Fila: 'identified as the company least interested ini improving labour conditions.'

FILA is identified in the report as the company least interested in improving labour conditions in its supplier factories in Asia. Last year, a FILA sport-shoe supplier in Indonesia with an appalling record of worker abuse - including denial of trade union rights and high levels of sexual harassment - closed suddenly. A year later, none of its 3,500 workers have received any back-pay or severance pay, and FILA refuses to take responsibility for the workers.

Unlike Nike, Reebok and Puma, FILA does not reveal the addresses of its other supplier factories and the company has ignored requests to reveal what steps, if any, it is taking to improve respect for trade union rights in these factories.