Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Family-owned footwear company selling shoes for men, women and children.
Bata can't show that the workers who make its products in Bangladesh and India earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- 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 1 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 Bangladesh, 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 child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: High-risk raw materials (leather) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: leather
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Bata says it makes products in Australia, Czechia and Malaysia. Press and retailer reports name Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, India and Pakistan. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Bangladesh | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Pakistan | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
| CambodiaUsual 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 |
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Bolivia | Regular violations | Not rated | Moderate |
| Colombia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Czechia | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
| Malaysia | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- Uses little or no cotton (e.g. wool, linen or leather products)
- 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.
Research notes Bata runs its own factories (27 production sites in 20 countries per its website; 17 factories per 2026 reports), including Malaysia (Klang), India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Colombia, Bolivia, the Czech Republic (closing during 2027) and Australia (Mornington gumboot plant), and buys from outside suppliers such as Italian makers. It publishes no factory list, production shares, modern slavery statement or living wage commitment; it says suppliers sign its code of conduct and pay at least the legal wage. Most shoes are leather or synthetic.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Not listed | Not rated in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (latest edition); Baptist World Aid's Good Shopping Guide rates Bata Shoes Australia D+ (updated July 2026). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Two response requests on record: a 2016 report on Eastern European shoe supply chains (Bata said it applies no living wage standard) and a 2014 Sri Lankan supplier union case. View |
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.
- More than 250 workers at Foot Plus, a Kenyan contractor making shoes for Bata, struck over pay in 2011, with local media reporting wages of about $1 a day (Leatherbiz, 2011). Source
- Workers laid off when Bata closed its Purwakarta factory in Indonesia in 2024 disputed the company's plan to pay severance under the newer Job Creation Law rather than the higher 2003 Labour Law rates (Indoleft, 2024). Source
- IndustriALL Global Union in 2013 accused Bata of union rights violations in Malaysia, Kenya and South Africa, and over its 2012 closure of a unionised plant in Tlaxcala, Mexico; in 2016 Bata's Mexican arm settled, paying the 59 remaining union members part of their lost wages (IndustriALL, 2016). Source
- A 2016 report alleged poor working conditions in shoe supply chains in Eastern Europe; Bata replied that its suppliers sign its code of conduct, it pays in line with local law and there is no agreed living wage standard (BHRRC, 2016). Source
- Bata Shoe Company Bangladesh workers blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway outside its factory in 2024, demanding higher pay, monthly instead of weekly wages and an end to terminations (Daily Observer, 2024). Source
- Clean Clothes Campaign said in 2014 that Sri Lankan supplier Palla & Co. dismissed 179 union members in 2013 and that Bata refused responsibility for getting them reinstated (CCC via BHRRC, 2014). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Bata Shoes Australia - Good Shopping Guide (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · D+ rating, no Ethical Fashion Report score; IndustriALL 2013 union claims
- Australian Made - Bata gumboots · search the archive · Gumboots and Jobmaster III made at Bata's factory in Mornington, Victoria since 1961
- Bata restructures its production in Pakistan (Modaes, 2026) · search the archive · 17 factories run by subsidiaries incl. Colombia and Bolivia; Pakistan sites merged at Batapur; Bata family owned
- Bata India board approves VRS at Hosur manufacturing unit (Business Standard, 2026) · search the archive · Bata India runs a manufacturing unit at Hosur, India
- Bata to close only Central European factory (Expats.cz, Sept 2026) · search the archive · Dolni Nemci shoe factory in Czech Republic to wind down during 2027; 92 jobs
- Bata Horizon safety boot (Mitre 10) · search the archive · Bata work boots sold through Mitre 10 hardware stores in Australia
Published by Bata or its owner
- Who we are (Bata) · search the archive · 27 production facilities in 20 countries; Klang, Malaysia factory makes PVC footwear; 30,000+ employees
Company details
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Employees
- About 32,000
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Bata ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/bata, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded footwear
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 Bata.