On-site at Grand Step Shoes
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Production volume: 6,000 pairs/day
Factory size: 800 employees
Working hours: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., 1-hour lunch break
Hours/week: 48 h/week
Salary: 4.5 million dong – 6 million dong/month (approx. €184 - €245)
Legal minimum wage: € 94 – € 137
AVESU ON SITE // GRAND STEP SHOES
SETTING STANDARDS IN VIETNAM
Fair working conditions and transparent production have been an integral part of GRAND STEP SHOES's philosophy since its founding. This is one of the reasons why the majority of the brand's shoes are manufactured in the European Union. However, founder Philipp Schmenger chose a factory in Vietnam for the production of the sneakers. The brand's comfortable and sporty sneakers prove that this doesn't automatically mean compromising on quality. But what about fairness? We visited the factory in winter 2016 to see for ourselves.
After about a 40-minute train ride from Hanoi Central Station, you reach the factory with which GRAND STEP SHOES collaborates in sneaker production. The company that operates the factory was founded in 1957 and specializes in canvas athletic shoes, but also manufactures other products at various locations. This Hanoi location employs approximately 800 people, producing up to 6,000 pairs of shoes daily on three production lines.
The factory's warehouse contains a wide variety of materials used in production. GRAND STEP SHOES sneakers and slip-ons are made from organic hemp fiber, which comes from an ecologically operated hemp mill in China that meets the OCS standard (at least 95% organic materials), GOTS standard, and Fair Wear certification.
Mait Rang in the sewing room
Mait Rang lives just three kilometers from the factory and has worked here for 20 years. She is now the head of the sewing department, which employs approximately 200 seamstresses.
In another department, approximately 110 employees process natural rubber from the surrounding area into shoe soles. These are punched out in various sizes, each provided with a sole profile and branding, and prepared for vulcanization. The shoes are heated to up to 160 degrees Celsius in large ovens to make the natural rubber more elastic and durable.
"The Party's communism shall shine forever" reads a banner in the conference room. The image below shows Marx and Lenin, communist symbols, and a bust of Ho Chi Minh. Although the once state-owned factory was converted into a state-owned limited company in 2004 and has been a public company since 2015, this room serves as a reminder that Vietnam is a socialist republic.
But that doesn't stop companies from relocating their production facilities here. Textile and footwear production is the country's second-largest industry and exports primarily to the United States.
COLLABORATION WITH THE FAIR WEAR FOUNDATION
The statutory minimum wage was raised in 2016 to between €94 and €137, depending on the region. The Fair Wear Foundation considers this an important step in the country's socio-political development. According to the organization, the main problems are the implementation of workers' rights regarding overtime pay, and the fact that workers are often unaware of their rights and therefore do not demand them.
The Thuong Dinh Footwear Company, which operates the factory, works closely with the Fair Wear Foundation. It has been actively involved in the organization's Fair Wear process since April 2017. Unlike other certifications, there is no one-time inspection that determines certification; rather, it is an ongoing process in which all areas of the factory are repeatedly audited and optimized.
In addition to the exclusion of child labor and discrimination, the Fair Wear process focuses on criteria such as freedom of organization, compliance with wage standards and regulated working hours, as well as correct employment contracts and the payment of overtime.
After an initial audit, the Foundation develops a CAP (Correction Action Plan) with improvements that must then be implemented before the next review.
The Fair Wear Foundation also investigates complaints about inadequate standards or unpaid overtime and conducts training programs for workers to educate them on their rights and how to enforce them. (More information at fairwear.org)
All factory employees are already covered by social insurance and are employed on one-year, three-year, and permanent contracts. Maternity leave lasts four to six months.
SUSTAINABILITY
The factory is also ahead of others in Vietnam when it comes to environmental issues. At the entrance to the site, it advertises its ISO 14001 certification, confirming that the factory has its own environmental management system and is continuously working on an environmental program to reduce waste, wastewater, and emissions. (More on ISO 14001)
Young labels with small production volumes like GRAND STEP SHOES often have little opportunity to tailor an entire production process to their needs, especially when it comes to ecological aspects, and are therefore dependent on the conditions offered by factories. "Apart from small family businesses, there are hardly any shoe factories in Europe that focus entirely on ecological, sustainable, and fair production. The textile industry is miles ahead of us in this regard," notes Philip Schmenger. This is one of the reasons why he chose the factory in Vietnam, with which he has maintained a partnership for 10 years. "We are all the more pleased to have such a professional company on our side that is constantly striving to advance its own development in terms of fairness and sustainability," says Schmenger. "And thus also the development of the entire shoe industry."
Note: This content was originally published on avesu.de and dates back to the time before the founding of Shoes For Society X avesu – a plan(e)t based footwear collective.
© AVESU 2017