Burberry
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 6 sources
London luxury fashion house known for trench coats and leather goods.
In 2021, an Italian subcontractor making Burberry's handbags kept migrant workers on 14-hour days for just over 3 euros an hour.
Also worth knowing
There's no public record of Burberry putting this right.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 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 2021.
- Checks its own supply chain. Burberry looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found forced labour in 2024 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 2021. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: working towards one (proven for only part of its supply chain)
- 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 it isn't fixingIts own checks found forced labour, which it is fixing. That's listed below and doesn't count against the grade.
- 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 (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
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 Burberry'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.
Jackets & coats, Shirts, Knitwear, Pants & trousers, Dresses & skirts, T-shirts, Shoes, Boots, Sneakers, Bags & backpacks, Hats: Harm on record, the same as Burberry 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
Burberry names some of the countries it makes in: Italy and the United Kingdom. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 71% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 7% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| United Kingdom | 6% | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Low |
| BangladeshUsual for the industry | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | 3% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 2% | 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 | 1% | 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
- Modern slavery statement
- Proves a living wage for part of its supply chain only
- 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.
- 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 Burberry makes some trench coats and outerwear in its own UK factories (Castleford and Keighley) and runs two sites in Italy, but most products come from 680 Tier 1 production sites: 71% in Italy, 6% in the UK, 18% elsewhere in EMEIA and 5% in Asia. It is an accredited UK Living Wage employer and says it is committed to living wages in its supply chain, but sets no target for supplier workers. It ran 436 on-site audits in 2025/26. No public factory list was found, and it scored 19/100 in KnowTheChain's 2023 forced labour benchmark.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Scored 38% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, above the 26% average. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Publishes an annual UK modern slavery statement; the FY2025/26 statement lists 680 Tier 1 production sites (Italy 71%, UK 6%, rest of EMEIA 18%, Asia 5%) and 436 on-site audits. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Not listed | Not graded in the Ethical Fashion Report (2026 is the latest edition). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Responded in 2017 to a Clean Clothes Campaign report on poverty wages in Eastern European garment factories, saying it had one supplier in Serbia. View |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Listed | Scored 58.9 out of 100 in the 2026 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Burberry reported that migrant workers at one of its raw material suppliers had paid recruitment fees to get their jobs, a forced labour risk, found in November 2024 (Burberry Modern Slavery Statement, 2025). Source · search the archiveFound 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. | YesBurberry says the supplier repaid the workers' recruitment fees in full (Modern Slavery Statement 2024/25). |
| 2021 | Florence prosecutors arrested the owners of Samipell, a subcontractor making Burberry handbags for supplier Tivoli Group, over migrant workers kept on up to 14-hour days for just over 3 euros an hour (Reuters/Eastern Eye, 2021). Source · archived copy | Not knownBurberry was not accused of wrongdoing and made no public comment; no remedy for the workers has been reported. |
Sources and actions
Sources 6
Show all 6 sources
- Burberry - Shop Ethical! (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · FTI 2023 38%; KnowTheChain 2023 19/100; CHRB 2026 58.9/100; no Ethical Fashion Report score
- Response by Burberry (BHRRC) · search the archive · 2017: UK Living Wage employer accreditation; joined Global Living Wage Initiative steering group in 2016
- Burberry subcontractor probed for exploiting Asian immigrants in Italy (Eastern Eye) · search the archive · 2021 arrests at Samipell, subcontractor to Burberry supplier Tivoli; 14-hour days for about 3 euros an hour
- Unauthorized subcontracting at the heart of Burberry-related probe (The Fashion Law) · archived copy · Florence prosecutor's 2021 probe into Samipell, subcontractor to Burberry supplier Tivoli Group
Published by Burberry or its owner
- Burberry Modern Slavery Statement FY2025/26 · search the archive · 680 Tier 1 sites (IT 71%, UK 6%, rest of EMEIA 18%, Asia 5%); 4 own factories; 7,292 staff; 436 on-site audits; Employer Pays
- Burberry Modern Slavery Statement 2024/25 · search the archive · Recruitment fees found at a raw material supplier in November 2024 and repaid in full
Company details
- Owned by
- Burberry Group plc
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Employees
- About 7,292
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Burberry ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/burberry, 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 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 Burberry.