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DECATHLON works with 1,240 suppliers in 45 countries or regions*, where national standards and regulations on health, safety, labor and environmental impacts vary, and where issues identified by intergovernmental organizations (International Labor Organization, OECD...) are taken into account.

In this context, our responsibility is to ensure
- through our locally based teams and regular audits
- that working conditions comply with regulations and the requirements of our Code of Conduct, wherever the product is manufactured, on the following subjects:
- human rights: decent wages, child labor, forced labor, freedom of association, discrimination, etc.
- health and safety: prevention of chemical risks, fire safety, working environment, building safety, safety of workstations, and if provided housing and transportation of people, etc.
- respect for the environment: prevention of direct pollution (water, air, soil) around our production sites - corruption: with regard to corruption and influence peddling, we adopt a zero tolerance approach.

*Figures as of December 31, 2024

If despite the numerous checks made during the design and manufacturing phases, the quality of a product available in the store is defective or if there are any doubts, several solutions are considered to protect the user and ensure compliant products can be put back on sale as soon as possible: Defective Returns are an indicator.
Our users must bring or send back their defective products to help us improve their quality. Some are directly sent to our design teams for analysis: by being proactive, our teams can then decide with full knowledge of the facts (withdraw from sale, repair, return products back to the supplier, destroy or recall the product if it is unsatisfactory from a quality or safety perspective).
Product returns are a real resource for putting to good use when dealing with the causes of poor quality and constantly improving our products' quality.

With regards to its suppliers' environmental impact, DECATHLON provides them with support by especially asking its suppliers concerned by discharge of industrial waster water to respect particular specifications and ensure compliance with pollution issues. Our suppliers are subsequently evaluated according to an environmental audit checklist (A, B or C according to the pollution risk they represent) and the teammates in the manufacturing offices trained and coordinated to make sure these requirements are complied with every day.

How does DECATHLON combat child labour?
For us, child labour is unacceptable. Our Code of Conduct, signed by our subcontractors, requires that no children be present on the manufacturing site. We are committed to refusing or ceasing to work with subcontractors who do not comply with this principle.

Why does DECATHLON choose to train its teams to audit working conditions on manufacturing sites?
We think it is important to establish demanding criteria for our subcontractors and ensure they comply with these on the ground
That's why, we directly position dedicated in-house teams, trained in audit techniques, in manufacturing areas. These in-house experts are also assigned the responsibility of training our manufacturing teams, who are present on a daily basis at our subcontractors' sites. The in-house training optimises the support we provide our subcontractors in implementing improvement plans.

We've been conducting, since 2002, a responsible purchasing policy entitled “Human Responsibility in Production”. It aims to improve working conditions in the supply chain and, reinforce the safety of the men and women that produce the products. These are priorities for Decathlon.
The strength of this policy is down to the training given to our in-house teams for rigorously assessing the subcontractors. The tools associated (guidelines, code of conduct, audit checklist, …) are updated as regularly as necessary to meet new challenges, opportunities and risk in the world.

For us, the joy of sport is inseparable from the well-being of people and the health of our planet. This belief is the foundation of our comprehensive chemical safety strategy, a commitment we have invested in since 2007 with a dedicated team of experts.
Our approach is not just about compliance; it's about creating an ecosystem of safety that surrounds every product we design, from the raw materials to the moment it reaches you.

Setting a higher standard
The cornerstone of our policy is our own Restricted Substances List (RSL). This is our rulebook, which sets maximum threshold values for hazardous substances in chemical products, components, finished goods ensuring compliance with international regulations and aligning with best practices from industry initiatives such as AFIRM (Apparel & Footwear International RSL Management) and ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals).
It’s our proactive way of ensuring we always stay ahead of potential risks.

From policy to action: our concrete victories
Our commitment isn't just on paper. It leads to real-world changes that make our products safer. For example:
We completely eliminated toluene, a solvent with serious health concerns (CMR), from the glues used in our inflatable products like kayaks and paddleboards.
We have banned the entire family of 24 ortho-phthalates, across the majority of our products.

A partnership for cleaner production
We believe our responsibility extends to the places where our products are made. That's why we are deeply engaged in the "Roadmap to Zero" (ZDHC) program, a global initiative to eliminate hazardous chemical discharge. This translates into concrete actions:
Acting at the source: We prevent pollution before it begins by managing the chemical formulations allowed into manufacturing facilities.
Empowering our partners: We go beyond simple compliance by training our suppliers, sharing our expertise to help them build more sustainable chemical management practices.
Protecting local ecosystems: We monitor wastewater, sludge, and air emissions to ensure that production does not harm the surrounding environment.
Ensuring accountability: Through rigorous environmental audits, we verify that our standards are met. We enforce a zero-tolerance policy for serious breaches—including suspending production—to drive continuous improvement.

Relentless testing, unwavering confidence
From chemicals products and materials to the final product, we are relentless about testing. Our products undergo rigorous chemical analyses in internationally recognized independent laboratories. This allows us to anticipate risks, solve issues, and guarantee that the product in your hands is safe and responsible.

Your safety is our final check
Your feedback is a vital part of our safety loop. We take every customer question or skin reaction alert with the utmost seriousness. A dedicated team provides personalized follow-up within 48 hours, and we analyze concerned products in independent labs where we study various sensitizers and allergens beyond the regulated chemical substances to ensure we are always learning and improving. Based on this information, we take appropriate decisions while assuring a transparent communication with our customers.

Stronger together: driving industry-wide change
We know that creating systemic change requires teamwork. That’s why we actively partner with global initiatives and experts like AFIRM, ZDHC.  By working together, we help harmonize industry standards, accelerate the adoption of safer alternatives, and build a more transparent future for everyone.

Drawing the line: the substances we are actively phasing out
Our commitment to safer chemistry is guided by a clear strategy: to actively identify, restrict, and substitute the most concerning substances. We go above and beyond regulations by setting a demanding roadmap that focuses on the greatest risks to human health and the environment.
Here are our priority action areas:

1. PFAS: A gradual but complex phase-out

PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment and their bioaccumulation in living organisms, have been widely used across many product categories for their unique properties: water and oil repellency, stain resistance, chemical and heat resistance, non-stick performance, and smooth surface finish. They can be found in products as diverse as outdoor sports equipment, technical apparel, footwear, personal care items, paints and coatings, and many other high-performance materials.

At DECATHLON, phasing out PFAS is a major priority. We are committed to progressively eliminating PFAS that are intentionally added to our products.

Unintentionally added PFAS: an important distinction

When we state that PFAS are “not intentionally added,” it means that these substances are not knowingly used in the design, formulation of raw materials, or manufacturing processes.

Unintended presence: a reality we must control

Despite our efforts to eliminate intentionally added PFAS, trace amounts may still occasionally be detected. This unintended presence may stem from various sources: water or air used during production, shared equipment with other manufacturing lines, certain ingredients or raw materials containing PFAS residues, as well as packaging or downstream treatments.

Although these traces are extremely low, we continuously monitor them and work closely with our suppliers to reduce their presence as much as possible, while ensuring the quality and safety of our products.

Our commitment

We collaborate with our suppliers and a network of accredited, independent laboratories to identify and validate alternatives that meet our technical performance, safety, and affordability requirements — to make sport accessible for everyone. This is a demanding and time-consuming process, as it involves replacing substances historically widely used in the industry, while maintaining the quality and durability of our products.

Our rigorous controls ensure that every product designed by Decathlon complies with applicable regulations and meets our internal standards for safety and reliability.

2. The most hazardous substances
Certain categories of substances are fundamentally incompatible with our vision of safe products. Their intentional use in our products is therefore strictly limited. This includes:
CMRs (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, or Reprotoxic substances).
PBTs (Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic substances) and endocrine disruptors.

3. Everyday chemicals under close scrutiny
We pay special attention to substances that can be found in everyday items and are a source of legitimate concern.
SVHCs (Substances of Very High Concern): DECATHLON ensures compliance with EU REACH regulation by providing transparent information on SVHC presence, in line with ECHA requirements and the French AGEC law.
Bisphenols: Their use is restricted by extremely strict limits, often going far beyond what is required by law.
Biocidal Treatments: We limit the use of antimicrobial or anti-odor treatments that can harm aquatic ecosystems. Instead, we champion solutions based on a material's inherent properties or natural components.

4. Driving cleaner production: a focus on manufacturing
Our responsibility extends to the chemicals used in factories. We are targeting the elimination of certain concerning solvents from our supply chains to protect the health of workers and local environments.

5. Tackling future challenges: microplastics and nanomaterials
Aware of emerging issues, we are working to better understand and minimize the release of microplastics during production, usage and product end of life.
We strictly govern the use of nanomaterials. Any new project involving these technologies is subject to a rigorous health and environmental risk assessment.

This roadmap is not static. It is a living commitment, continuously updated by our experts in line with scientific progress, to ensure our engagement effectively respects athletes and the planet, today and tomorrow.

In three ways:
· By gradually replacing conventional cotton in Decathlon products with more responsibly sourced cotton: BCI, recycled cotton and organically grown cotton.
· Utilising a code of conduct formalising requirements concerning working conditions, human rights and respect for the environment for its suppliers and by regularly inspecting them. Among other things, it prohibits forced labour and the purchase of cotton from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
· By actively participating in the work of international institutions (OCDE, DAEI… ) aimed at defining good practices for the clothing industry.

Following the revelations of forced labour practices in Uzbekistan during 2005-2006 (among others by NGOs such as IRLF and Environmental Justice Foundation), we asked our suppliers, starting in 2007, to sign a letter of commitment prohibiting the use of cotton sourced from Uzbekistan in our products.
Our code of conduct, issued in 2017, also includes a ban on cotton from Turkmenistan in addition to Uzbekistan.

What makes DECATHLON unique is its ability to control its entire activity chain. We are a sports goods distributor and designer. Our teams, therefore, work on the design, as close as possible to the production sites, in the warehouses, on the logistics flows, right up to the DECATHLON stores.
This specificity allows us to reduce our costs at every stage to make our products accessible to as many people as possible.

We innovated by making it with just one seam, reducing this product's costs. Just one seam is just one manufacturing step, meaning less fabric used, and therefore, a reduction in production and transport costs, which we pass on to our customers in the retail price.

At DECATHLON, no product contains animal fur.

We use feathers in some of our products for extreme cold. At the same time, we are testing alternatives to feathers with free fibers and polyester fibers, but the weight/heat/compactness ratio does not yet meet the requirements of the sports use for which these products are designed.

Nevertheless, it is essential for us to know where the feathers come from and how the animals they come from are treated. All the feathers and down used in our products are now labeled with the RDS (Responsible Down Standard). Regular audits are carried out at our suppliers to ensure that the requirements of this label are met. Our suppliers must respect decent breeding conditions (no animal mistreatment or force-feeding) for geese and ducks. They also commit themselves not to practice plucking on live animals. These animals have been raised for their meat and slaughtered before the collection of down and feathers.