Employees at Lodenfrey
Social sustainability and fair wages
We do not see sustainability as a purely ecological topic, but have an extensive and holistic understanding of it. In our industry in particular, social aspects and aspects of animal welfare play a decisive role. We have always had an active works councilor in our company, who is actively involved in the design of the company and decision-making processes. The protection of the rights of the employees, even the expansion of their competencies, is a central means of success for us, since collective experiences, swarm intelligence and a workforce that has internalized the values of the brand inevitably have a positive influence on decisions. This applies to our locations in Germany and Austria as well as to the production location in Romania. In our own production, we can decide together with the employees about working hours, wages and social benefits. We therefore pay salaries above the statutory minimum wage in order to be able to guarantee a healthy and fulfilling life with social participation (around 30 percent above the statutory minimum wage, as of 2019). We pay attention to humane working hours and provide company buses for the mobility of the workforce. In addition, the owner family around Sabine Frey has set up an association to give something back to the beautiful region and especially its children. The KiRu e.V. association supports an orphanage near Oradea, has built a
oarding school together with it and works every day to improve the education of orphans and children from socially neglected families in Romania. However, our commitment and responsibility does not stop behind our own front door, which is why we seek ways with all our partners and suppliers to secure jobs along the entire supply chain and to make them attractive. This includes jointly working out the current conditions, because often the status quo of working conditions is not at all clear. This is due on the one hand to the distance, and on the other hand to the frequently changing partner companies of the upstream suppliers. The wool and fabric market is a large market that is very fragmented and subject to large price fluctuations. In addition, a self-commitment to continuous improvement of the general circumstances is a prerequisite for working with us. For example, every new supplier has to fill out and sign a questionnaire that covers issues such as corruption, child labour and forced labour, human and animal rights and ecological standards....
