Labour Lens

Comptoir des Cotonniers

Lacks transparency

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Clothing & footwear

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources

French women's fashion brand selling clothing and knitwear.

Comptoir des Cotonniers is working towards a living wage but can't yet show workers are paid one, and it doesn't name the factories the Fair Labor Association's monitoring covers.

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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 proof yet 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, 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.

How grades are decided

Good requirements 1 of 6

  • Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: working towards one
  • 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 (cotton, leather and cashmere) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton

Red flags 2

  • Red flag: No proof yet that it pays a living wage (it's working towards one)
  • 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:
StarAwarded for
Gives workers a real voice

Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Accreditations 1

Where it's made

These are its parent group's countries across all its brands; Comptoir des Cotonniers doesn't say where its own products are made. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
ChinaNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
BangladeshNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
VietnamSystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
IndiaNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
CambodiaNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
IndonesiaNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
ItalyStrong protectionsClose to a living wageLow
JapanStrong protectionsClose to a living wageLow
MalaysiaNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
ThailandNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
TürkiyeUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageVery high
PakistanUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageHigh

Evidence

What we found

  • Signed the International Accord on garment factory safety
  • 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.
  • Uses leather and cashmere in only a few products and doesn't show where they come from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.

Research notes Comptoir des Cotonniers gives no origin for its clothes; Fast Retailing France's 2025 vigilance plan names group production offices in Japan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam but no country split for the brand, so the list is Fast Retailing's group partner countries. It uses Fast Retailing's monitoring: yearly audits of partner factories, an FLA-accredited programme, a worker helpline and recruitment fee refunds. The group's factory list does not show which factories make this brand. No living wage commitment or wage evidence is given. Its French operator went into insolvency in July 2025 and a Paris court approved a relaunch in February 2026, keeping 54 of about 90 stores.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion ReportListedNot rated on its own; owner Fast Retailing's Uniqlo scored 57 out of 100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (average 31.5), after 50 in 2024. View
KnowTheChainListedOwner Fast Retailing scored 49 out of 100 in the 2023 KnowTheChain apparel and footwear benchmark; the score is group-level. View

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Comptoir des Cotonniers - Good On You · search the archive · Owned by Fast Retailing; final production stage covered by the FLA; no living wage evidence; uses leather, wool and cashmere
  2. Fast Retailing latest signatory to Pakistan Accord (Just Style) · search the archive · Fast Retailing signed the Pakistan Accord on garment factory safety in May 2023
  3. Restart for Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse tam.tam in France (RetailDetail) · search the archive · Fast Retailing France emerging from insolvency; Paris Commercial Court final approval reported 27 Feb 2026; 54 of about 90 stores remain

Published by Comptoir des Cotonniers or its owner

  1. Plan de vigilance 2025 - Fast Retailing France · search the archive · Yearly partner audits; FLA reviewed two partners in FY2025; worker helpline; recruitment fees refunded; no country split
  2. Approvisionnement des matières - Comptoir des Cotonniers · search the archive · Covers Comptoir des Cotonniers; 100% responsible cotton target by end 2025; cashmere traced internally since 2024; flows tracked since 2023
  3. Comptoir des Cotonniers online store · search the archive · Women's clothing, lingerie and swimwear, with a cashmere knit range; French site with French delivery terms and no international shipping

Company details

Headquarters
France
Last researched
3 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Comptoir des Cotonniers ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/comptoir-des-cotonniers, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Better-graded everyday fashion

3 resale and rental platforms, Good by ruleBuying second-hand or refurbished: SWOP Clothing Exchange, AirRobe and Grailed · See them allGoodThe Social StudioClothing & footwearSocial enterprise fashion labelIts own factories in Australia hold Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Gives workers a real voice; Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities4 starsMiddlemostClothing & footwearOne-off clothing from vintage textilesIts own factories in Australia hold Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Open supply chain3 starsThe Social OutfitClothing & footwearSydney-made social enterprise fashionIts own factories in Australia hold Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Gives workers a real voice3 stars

Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.

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Something missing or wrong?

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