Due Diligence

Due diligence and risk assessment

ASICS assesses labour risks, including forced labour risks, as part of our human-rights due-diligence process across our supply chain. Our assessment integrates supply-chain mapping, supplier self-assessments, social compliance assessments, worker interviews, grievance information, and corrective-action history with external country, sector, and supplier level risk intelligence. These sources help us identify and assess risks beyond those captured through audit alone.

Our assessment considers indicators of forced labor and conditions that may increase workers’ vulnerability to exploitation, including worker-paid recruitment fees and related costs, labor-broker and dispatch arrangements, irregular or indirect employment relationships, retention of identity or travel documents, restrictions on freedom of movement, and excessive or involuntary overtime. We pay particular attention to risks affecting migrant workers.

We supplement supplier information with insights from international organizations, multi-stakeholder initiatives, industry associations and rights-holder representatives. These include ILO Better Work, the Fair Labor Association, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, trade unions, worker representatives and civil-society and labor-rights organizations. Stakeholder information informs our understanding of local labour conditions and worker vulnerabilities, supports risk prioritization, and helps determine appropriate preventive or remedial actions.

Responsible recruitment

ASICS places particular emphasis on responsible recruitment practices as part of its broader due diligence framework. ASICS maintains a zero-recruitment fee policy based on the “Employer Pays” principle that no worker should pay for a job, and recruitment fees and related costs should be borne by the employer, not the worker. Through our supplier monitoring processes, we assess whether workers may be subject to placement or recruitment fees and identify recruitment practices that may increase their vulnerability to forced labour.

Since 2018, ASICS has been a signatory to the AAFA/FLA Apparel & Footwear Industry Commitment to Responsible Recruitment, supporting collective efforts to address forced labor risks affecting migrant workers in global supply chains. Recognizing that recruitment-related risks cannot be effectively addressed by any one organization alone, ASICS remains committed to collaborating with industry peers, governments, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders to advance responsible recruitment practices and protect workers.

ASICS is deeply committed to responsible recruitment practices and continues to uphold our Standards by endorsing the 2023 revision of the AAFA/FLA Apparel & Footwear Industry Commitment.

By signing the commitment, we have incorporated it into our standards and that we commit to work with our global supply chain partners to create conditions so that:

• No workers pay for their job;
• Workers receive a timely refund of fees and costs paid to obtain or maintain their job;
• Workers retain control of their travel documents and have full freedom of movement; and
• All workers are informed, in a language they understand, of the basic terms of their employment before leaving their country of origin.

You can learn more about this commitment here: AAFA Commitment to Responsible Recruitment.

Fair wages

ASICS recognizes the issues around fair wages in our industry. Workers should be fully and fairly compensated. Therefore, ASICS supplier audits include a detailed review of wage systems.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining

Our Policy of Engagement requires business partners to recognize and respect the employees’ right to organize and join associations by their own choice, and to bargain collectively. We have been a signatory of the Freedom of Association (FOA) Protocol in Indonesia since 2011. According to self-assessment questionnaire responses among Tier 1 footwear factories in mid-2026, approximately 60% of the workforce surveyed was covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Child labor

Child labor is one of ASICS’ so called zero tolerance subjects and we take strong efforts to ensure our contracted facilities are not engaged in such practices.

Grievance mechanism

ASICS has established grievance mechanisms to help ensure workers' voices are heard and concerns can be raised and addressed safely. In 2024, ASICS launched a worker engagement and empowerment program to strengthen communication between factory management and employees, promote greater workplace transparency, and support proactive issue resolution. As part of this initiative, we introduced the WOVO platform developed by Labor Solutions at strategic supplier factories in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Through e-learning, anonymous worker surveys, and digital grievance functions, the platform supports worker engagement, helps identify workplace concerns, and contributes to continuous improvement.

Recognizing that the existence of a grievance mechanism alone does not guarantee its effectiveness, ASICS entered into a three-year partnership with Labor Solutions in 2026 to implement the Grievance Integrity Program across Tier 1 suppliers and key Tier 2 suppliers. Building on the foundation established through WOVO, the program will support the expansion of worker engagement and grievance mechanism coverage beyond strategic suppliers over time. The program combines direct worker feedback with supplier self-assessments to evaluate how grievance mechanisms function in practice, including worker awareness of reporting channels, accessibility, trust in the process, protection from retaliation, access to remedy, worker engagement, health and safety, and workplace conduct.

Findings are used to develop site-specific improvement plans, with ASICS and Labor Solutions providing targeted support, training, and remediation where gaps are identified. By incorporating worker perspectives, ASICS can identify risks that may not be visible through traditional audit processes and assess whether corrective actions are leading to meaningful improvements over time.

Addressing Forced Labor Risks

ASICS recognizes that forced labour risks vary across supply chain and require prevention, monitoring, and remediation measures tailored to these risks. At Tier 1, we have identified risks associated with dispatched or indirect employment arrangements. At Tier 2, we have identified foreign migrant workers in parts of the textile supply chain may face recruitment-fee, labor-broker, and other recruitment risks. Further upstream, we recognize heightened forced labour risks associated with certain raw material supply chains, including cotton and leather, and prioritize these materials for enhanced due diligence and traceability.

In Vietnam, a Better Work audit identified issues concerning dispatched workers at a contractor factory. In collaboration with Better Work Vietnam, our sourcing team, and the supplier, we engaged in extensive dialogue and provided guidance to factory management. As a result, the affected workers transitioned to direct employment with the factory, ending their employment relationship with the dispatching agency.

In Taiwan, ASICS participates in the AAFA/FLA initiative on responsible recruitment of migrant workers in the textile sector, supports collective advocacy for stronger worker protections and implementation of the Employer Pays Principle, and engages relevant suppliers to strengthen no-fee recruitment practices and effective remediation where issues are identified. Our broader human rights due diligence also includes consultation with worker representatives, trade unions, labor-rights organizations, and other civil society stakeholders when responding to human rights concerns.

At a Cambodian footwear factory, stakeholder engagement related to labor rights and freedom of association issues helped strengthen worker representation, addressed worker concerns, and supported ongoing dialogue between workers and management. This engagement contributed to the reinstatement and compensation of a union leader, a formal registration of the union at the factory, and the subsequent resolution of union-dues and membership-recognition concerns between the union and the factory management.

While forced labor risks vary across regions and supply-chain tiers, our approach remains consistent: identifying risks, engaging affected stakeholders, and taking appropriate action to prevent harm and support remediation. Continued collaboration with suppliers, workers, and external stakeholders helps us enhance our due diligence efforts and address evolving risks across our global supply chain.

Responsible Sourcing

Responsible Purchasing Practices

ASICS recognizes that the purchasing practices of global enterprises can impact a variety of issues in the supply chain, including excessive overtime at suppliers, wage and benefits, and unsafe working environment. ASICS believes that by supporting responsible labor practices, compliance with human rights-related laws and improvement of purchasing practices can reduce the above risks. As part of human rights due diligence, ASICS recognizes the impact of purchasing practices to the workers in the supply chain and tackle to improve the working environment at our suppliers. Product Sourcing Department and Sustainability Department will work closely to ensure that responsible purchasing practices are implemented. ASICS also confirms planning/forecasting, design/development, price negotiations, sourcing/ordering, payment, etc. as particularly important items to promote responsible purchasing practices and has been working for fair trade with our suppliers. As a result, ASICS has been in a stable business partnership with major suppliers for an average of 15 years or more. 

Examples of our responses for each item are as follows:

Planning and Forecasting

ASICS sourcing team conducts on-going business planning and forecast updates with each supplier continuously to review granular forecast to each supplier is usually 3 months prior to the first production month in each season, then communicate with suppliers every month and make adjustments to ensure proper labor distribution on the production site.

Design and Development

If the free samples in development stage are not commercialized, ASICS bears the material costs.

Cost and Cost negotiation

Labor costs related to production are calculated based on the quarterly average wage schedule provided by each supplier, and any increase in labor costs is basically reflected in product costs.

Sourcing and Order placement

ASICS coordinates the production capacity and the actual order with the factories at the time of ordering every month. And leftover materials generated during production are passed on to the next production, and ASICS also deals with purchases.

Payment and Terms

ASICS strives to adhere to the payment terms outlined in the manufacturing contract. The standard maximum payment term for footwear factories is 75 days.(as of August 2026)

Responsible Exit

If an order is reduced, we notify the supplier as soon as possible to help minimize the impact on workers. In the event of a supplier’s closure or downsizing, regardless of the reason, our business divisions promptly gather relevant information and communicate with the supplier to help ensure that all legal and ethical procedures are followed while minimizing impacts on employment and wages.

Responsible Raw Material Sourcing and Traceability

ASICS is strengthening raw material traceability to enhance supply chain transparency and support responsible sourcing. Recognizing that cotton and leather are commodities associated with heightened human rights risks in global supply chains, we have prioritized these materials to improve upstream visibility and traceability.
While cotton represents a relatively small proportion of ASICS' overall material portfolio, we continue to enhance traceability and transparency for cotton alongside leather as part of our risk-based responsible sourcing approach. As a member of the Leather Working Group (LWG), ASICS supports industry efforts to advance responsible sourcing and continuous improvement within the leather sector.
Through our traceability program, we have mapped the countries of origin for selected priority materials, including the United States and Australia for cotton products and the United States and Brazil for leather.