Acne Studios
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Stockholm fashion house known for denim, knitwear, outerwear and shoes.
In 2023, three Chinese factories making Acne Studios' products did not pay the legal minimum wage, overtime premiums or statutory leave.
Also worth knowing
There's no public record of Acne Studios putting this right.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Acne Studios? Send a right of reply.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 4 of 7 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has a confirmed problem with workers' pay, rights or safety that it hasn't shown it is fixing. It can't be On Track until it shows it is.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years with no public record of it being put right: unpaid or underpaid wages, last recorded in 2023.
- Checks its own supply chain. Acne Studios looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found a labour rights breach in 2025 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. Another problem on its record counts against the grade: unpaid or underpaid wages in 2023. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 4 of 7
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: working towards one. Not presumed from where it's made, because of unpaid or underpaid wages in 2023
- Met: Respects worker rights
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: Shows where its earlier production stages happen, not just the final oneA "Made in" claim can cover only the final stage. Earlier stages to show: yarn, fabric, dyeing and, for shoes, uppers
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listPublishes its supplier list
- Not met: High-risk raw materials (cotton and leather) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton and leather
Red flags 1
- Red flag: A confirmed problem with pay, rights or safety not shown to be put right
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Gives workers a real voice |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Accreditations 2
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Acne Studios's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
Jeans, T-shirts, Hoodies & sweatshirts, Knitwear, Shirts, Pants & trousers, Dresses & skirts, Jackets & coats, Boots, Shoes, Sneakers, Bags & backpacks, Hats: Harm on record, the same as Acne Studios overall, because nothing we know differs between them.
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where it's made
Italy has the largest share, 59%. Portugal is next, at 20%.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 59% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Portugal | 20% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| China | 12% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Romania | 4% | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Türkiye | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| Bulgaria | 1% | Regular violations | Below a living wage | High |
| Morocco | 1% | Regular violations | Well below a living wage | Low |
| Lithuania | 1% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Proves a living wage for part of its supply chain only
- "Made in Italy, Portugal and Lithuania" only means the last major stage happened there: under customs and consumer law, yarn, fabric, dyeing and, for shoes, uppers can be made elsewhere. It hasn't shown where those earlier stages happen, so where it's made counts towards On Track but not Good. Source
- Doesn't show where its cotton comes from. Cotton is linked to forced labour in Xinjiang and Turkmenistan, and child labour in several growing regions, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies it.
- Doesn't show where its leather comes from. Leather is linked to hazardous tannery work and forced labour on some cattle ranches, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies it.
- Has a confirmed problem with workers' pay, rights or safety that it hasn't shown it is fixing (listed under Confirmed issues), so it can't be graded higher until it shows it is.
Research notes Acne Studios has been a Fair Wear member since 2008, rated Leader every year since 2014, and became a Certified B Corp in October 2024. Most products are made in Italy, Portugal and China. It says 75% of FY2024/25 order value came from factories paying a living wage or the national collective agreement wage, but Fair Wear's latest available report found evidence of living wages for only 17% of production value, and there is no dated plan to close the gap. It shares 82% of its main production sites on the Open Supply Hub. Fair Wear's 2023 check recorded no worker complaints but found wage and overtime breaches at Chinese suppliers.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Wear | Member | Fair Wear member since 2008, Leader category; latest benchmarking score 81 in the 2025 Brand Performance Check. View |
| B Corp directory | Certified | Acne Studios AB certified as a B Corp in October 2024 with a score of 83.2. View |
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Not listed | Not in Ethical Clothing Australia's current brand directory. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Not listed | No supply chain labour allegations against Acne Studios found in news or NGO reporting. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Acne Studios' FY2024/25 sustainability report says audits at factories in China found time records that hid the real amount of overtime worked.Found and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | PartlyAcne Studios reviewed the real overtime records, agreed time-bound action plans and follow-up training with the supplier. |
| 2023 | Fair Wear's Brand Performance Check covering September 2022 to August 2023 found that three Chinese factories making Acne Studios products did not pay the legal minimum wage, overtime premiums or statutory leave. Source · search the archive | Not knownFair Wear found no evidence of remediation at the three Chinese factories; later company reports describe corrective action plans in China but not whether unpaid wages and leave were repaid. |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Fair Wear: Acne Studios brand page · search the archive · Member since 2008; latest (2025) benchmarking score 81; categories include menswear, womenswear, denim, footwear, bags and accessories.
- B Lab: Acne Studios AB · search the archive · Certified B Corp since October 2024, overall score 83.2, Workers score 20.9.
- FashionNetwork: Acne Studios switches minority shareholders (2019) · search the archive · Founders Mikael Schiller and Jonny Johansson hold the majority; IDG Capital 30.1% and Hong Kong's I.T Group 10.9% as minority shareholders.
- RUSSH: Where to buy Acne Studios in Australia (2024) · search the archive · Two stores in Sydney (Paddington and city) and two in Melbourne (Chadstone and CBD).
Published by Acne Studios or its owner
- Fair Wear Brand Performance Check: Acne Studios (published April 2024, covering Sep 2022 to Aug 2023) · search the archive · Leader, score 71; production volume Italy 39%, China 24.11%, Portugal 19.93%, Türkiye 4.95%, Romania 4.37%, Bulgaria 2.79%, Morocco 1.85%, Lithuania 1.68%; living wage evidenced for 17% of FOB (brand claims 52%); no time-bound wage plan; zero helpline complaints; three Chinese factories not paying l
- Acne Studios Sustainability Progress Report FY2024/25 · search the archive · Tier 1 order value Italy 59%, Portugal 20%, China 12%, Romania 4%, Türkiye 2%, Bulgaria, Morocco and Lithuania 1% each; 75% of order value from factories paying living or CBA wages; 82% of tier 1 sites on Open Supply Hub; falsified overtime records found in China with action plans; about 1,000 emplo
- Acne Studios: Protecting workers' rights · search the archive · Fair Wear member since 2008, Leader since 2014; target of 100% monitoring of workers' rights by FY26/27; Italy is a main production region for denim, knitwear, shoes and bags.
Company details
- Headquarters
- Sweden
- Employees
- About 1,000
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Acne Studios ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/acne-studios, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Better-graded everyday fashion
Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Acne Studios.