ASICS
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Japanese sportswear company best known for its running shoes.
ASICS can't show that the workers who make its products in Vietnam and India earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
Better-graded footwear
Graded higher than ASICS, selling the same kinds of things. Second-hand first.
Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent ASICS? Send a right of reply.
Compare ASICS with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (union rights breach, last recorded in 2025) has been put right.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as China and India, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksAn unconfirmed report of forced labour is listed below. It doesn't affect the grade.
- 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) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From ASICS's own disclosure: it publishes its supplier list. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Cambodia | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Brazil | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| BangladeshUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Modern slavery statement
- 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. Source
Research notes ASICS makes its shoes and clothing through independent suppliers, mainly in Vietnam (about half its running shoes), Indonesia, Cambodia and China. It publishes a yearly factory list covering over 90% of its volume, but no production shares by country and no living wage target. It scored 32/100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report, just above the 31.5 average. After 18 months of pressure it helped secure reinstatement and compensation in 2025 for a union leader jailed at its Cambodian supplier Wing Star Shoes.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Scored 32 out of 100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (average 31.5), after 30 in 2024. View |
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Scored 45% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, above the 26% average. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Publishes an annual modern slavery statement; the 2025 statement reports 112 Tier 1 factories in over 20 countries but no living wage target. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Records the jailing of a union leader at ASICS supplier Wing Star Shoes and his reinstatement with record compensation in 2025. View |
Confirmed issues 1
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 | A Worker Rights Consortium investigation found ASICS supplier Wing Star Shoes in Cambodia had union leader Chea Chan jailed in 2024 on baseless charges to stop a new union; he was reinstated and compensated in November 2025 (WRC 2024, 2025). Source · archived copyPut right The company has put this right for the people affected, so it no longer counts against the grade. | YesAfter 18 months of talks with the WRC, ASICS helped secure Chea Chan's reinstatement and US$50,000 compensation in November 2025, plus US$3,000 back pay in 2024. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Workers at Wing Star Shoes reported extreme heat, toxic glues, illegal overtime, denial of sick leave and pay of little more than US$1 an hour (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2025). Source
- A 2021 Sheffield Hallam University report, 'Laundering Cotton', linked ASICS to supply chains that may use forced-labour cotton from Xinjiang, China (Sheffield Hallam University via Baptist World Aid, 2021). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- ASICS allowed Cambodian supplier factory to have worker jailed (Worker Rights Consortium) · archived copy · WRC found Wing Star had union president Chea Chan jailed in Feb 2024 in retaliation for forming a union; ASICS took no meaningful action
- Landmark redress for falsely imprisoned worker leader (Worker Rights Consortium, Nov 2025) · search the archive · Chea Chan reinstated with US$50,000 compensation; ASICS played a constructive if belated role; union registered
- ASICS - Good Shopping Guide (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · 2026 Ethical Fashion Report: ASICS scored 32/100 (average 31.5); FTI 2023 45%; Sheffield Hallam 2021 Xinjiang cotton link; Transparency Pledge aligned
- Cambodia: union leader at ASICS and Muji supplier wins reinstatement and record compensation (BHRRC) · search the archive · Reinstatement and US$53,000 total compensation for Wing Star union leader, November 2025
- Asics to move parts of its production to other Asian countries (SGI Europe) · search the archive · About half of ASICS running shoes made in Vietnam; expansion to Indonesia and Cambodia
Published by ASICS or its owner
- ASICS Modern Slavery Statement 2025 · search the archive · 112 Tier 1 factories in 2025 across 20+ countries, mainly Southeast Asia; no living wage targets
- Our Partnership Approach (ASICS) · search the archive · Annual global factory list of Tier 1 and 2 suppliers covering over 90% of volume
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Employees
- About 9,500
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is ASICS ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/asics, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent ASICS.