Bottega Veneta
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Italian luxury house best known for woven leather handbags.
Bottega Veneta publishes no supplier list or independent audits, which Italian fashion needs before we presume a living wage, because Milan prosecutors have found luxury brands' subcontractors exploiting migrant workers.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
- 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 3 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Met: Respects worker rights
- 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
- Met: High-risk raw materials (cotton, leather, natural rubber, silk and cashmere) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeTraced or certified: leather. Only in a few products: cotton, natural rubber, silk and cashmere
Red flags 1
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Bottega Veneta'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.
Bags & backpacks, Shoes, Boots, Sandals & thongs, Sneakers, Dresses & skirts, Knitwear, Jackets & coats, Pants & trousers, Shirts: Lacks transparency, the same as Bottega Veneta 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
Bottega Veneta names some of the countries it makes in: Italy. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 70% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 9% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| BangladeshUsual for the industry | 6% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | 5% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| CambodiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for clothes and shoes: traces or certifies its leather.
- Modern slavery statement
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- Being made in Italy doesn't count towards a living wage or audit here: Italian fashion and leather goods, where Milan prosecutors have found luxury brands' subcontractors exploiting migrant workers. It would need to publish its suppliers or have them independently audited.
- Uses cotton, natural rubber, silk and cashmere in only a few products. It doesn't show where its natural rubber and silk come from and traces or certifies most of its cotton and cashmere. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.
- Traces or certifies most but not all of its leather. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes Bottega Veneta makes part of its range in its own Italian factories: its Manifattura Veneta Pelletterie sites near Vicenza make over half its leather goods, and its shoes are made at its own plant in Vigonza, near Padua; outside makers it does not name make the rest. All named sites are in Italy. Kering audited about 70% of its 4,470 suppliers in 2024 but has no public living wage target, and its audits check legal minimum wages. Kering scored 44/100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Scored 51% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, well above the 26% average. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Named as a Kering House in Kering's 2024 group modern slavery statement: 4,470 suppliers, mainly in Italy and France, about 70% audited. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Bottega Veneta UK Co. Ltd is a reporting entity under Kering's UK modern slavery statement. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Owner Kering scored 44/100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (average 31.5); Bottega Veneta is not scored separately. View |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Listed | Kering scored 52.1% in the World Benchmarking Alliance's 2026 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Kering - Shop Ethical! (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · Kering 44/100 in 2026 Ethical Fashion Report; 52.1% in WBA Human Rights Benchmark 2026; KnowTheChain 2023 23/100
- Kering SA 2024 Modern Slavery Statement (Australian register) · search the archive · 4,470 suppliers mainly in Italy and France; about 70% audited in 2024; audits check minimum wage; no living wage target
- Kering refuerza Bottega Veneta con una nueva fábrica en Italia (Modaes, 2023) · search the archive · All Bottega Veneta footwear to be made at its own Vigonza plant; three other own factories in Veneto
- Kering prioritises hides from traceable origins (Leatherbiz) · search the archive · Leather: traced most. Kering requires hide suppliers to name tanneries, slaughterhouses and farm country
- Bottega Veneta invests in third site of Manifattura Veneta Pelletterie (La Conceria) · search the archive · Leather: major use. Own sites at Altavilla Vicentina and Malo make over 50% of Bottega Veneta leather goods; about 300 artisans
- Trace to the finish (Leather International, 2017) · search the archive · Leather: traced most. Bottega Veneta held ICEC product traceability certification for leather
- Kering's materials focus pays off (Trellis) · search the archive · Cotton (minor, clothing only) and cashmere (minor): traced most, Kering traces 98%+ to country of origin. Silk, rubber: minor, untraced
Company details
- Owned by
- Kering SA
- Headquarters
- Italy
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Bottega Veneta ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/bottega-veneta, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded bags and accessories
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 Bottega Veneta.