We believe in social responsibility, environmental protection and fair cooperation as the guiding tenets of all that we do. Credibility is a crucial element of our success and we earn it every day anew through firm convictions and consistent actions.

The overarching goal of Otto Group is to strike a lasting, harmonious balance between economic, ecological and social responsibilities. Environmental protection and socially responsible business practices have been anchored in the Group’s corporate mission statement since the mid-1980s. These goals are an expression of the Group’s commitment to sustainability. The Otto Group Code of Conduct adopted in 1996 is the basis for implementing social responsibility standards in the Group’s worldwide production sites. Through its affiliation with AVE (Außenhandelsvereinigung des Deutschen Einzelhandels e.V.), an association of German retailers engaged in foreign trade, Otto has been stepping up its efforts to harmonize standards of socially responsible business practices in the German retail sector.

UN Global Compact, an association of business groups, UN organizations, public interest groups and labor unions that was formed in 1999 actively promotes human rights, socially acceptable labor standards and environmental protection throughout the world. Through their membership in the Global Compact, companies of Otto Group have publicly affirmed their intention to conduct business in conformity with UN principles of sustainable development.

Otto Group companies continually strive to demonstrate their intensive commitment to these principles. One example is, for instance, the expansion of the textile goods range of products that have been tested for harmful substances. A further example of the commitment of the Otto Group is the reduction of the carbon dioxide emissions caused by delivery operations. Additionally, Otto starts projects such as the development of the trademark PURE WEAR. PURE WEAR holds Otto’s highest standard of textiles as PURE WEAR products are ecologically optimized and tested for harmful substances. Cotton for these products derives from biologically controlled cultivation. It guarantees an optimum of skin-friendliness, as the raw material is never treated with substances that could leave pollutants in the organic cotton.