Labour Lens

Cortefiel

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 · 7 sources

Spanish brand selling smart-casual clothing for women and men.

Cortefiel can't show that the workers who make its products in Bangladesh and Myanmar 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.

How grades are decided

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 rights92% 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 confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksAn unconfirmed report of forced labour is listed below. It doesn't affect 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

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:
StarAwarded for
Gives workers a real voice

Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Where it's made

These are Tendam Brands' countries across all its brands; Cortefiel 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, share by country, and conditions there
CountryShareWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
China31%No guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
Bangladesh26%No guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
Myanmar10%No guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageVery high
Pakistan9%No guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageHigh
India7%No guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
Vietnam6%Systematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
Türkiye5%No guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageVery high
CambodiaUsual for the industry2%No guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
Spain2%Strong protectionsClose to a living wageLow
IndonesiaUsual for the industry2%No guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate

Evidence

What we found

  • Signed the International Accord on garment factory safety Source
  • Actively empowers workers (ownership, worker committees, union agreements, training)
  • 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 in only a few products and doesn't show where it comes from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.

Research notes Cortefiel is supplied through Tendam's shared network of about 290 suppliers and 520 sewing factories, and Tendam gives no brand breakdown or factory list. In 2023 China made 31% of purchases, Bangladesh 29%, Myanmar 14%, Pakistan 11% and India 6%; eleven more countries, including Morocco, Egypt, Italy and Portugal, are named without shares and make up well under 1%, so are left off the country list. Tendam joined the International Accord in 2024, has a 2022 union agreement covering suppliers and is an amfori member, but makes no living wage commitment and was not rated in the 2024 Ethical Fashion Report.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Business & Human Rights Resource CentreListedTendam's profile lists four Myanmar supply-chain stories with response requests; it has answered most of them. 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.

  • Workers at Myanmar Guotai Huasheng Glory Fashion reported denied sick leave, forced Sunday overtime and pregnant workers told to leave in 2024; the Resource Centre named Tendam, which said the factory had never been in its supply chain (BHRRC, 2024-2025). Source

Sources and actions

Sources 7

Show all 7 sources
  1. Tendam reorganiza su sourcing (Modaes, empresa edition) · search the archive · 2023 purchases: China 30.61%, Bangladesh 29.35%, Myanmar 14.21%, Pakistan 11.27%, India 5.98%, Turkey 4.1%, Spain 2.8%
  2. Tendam se suma al Accord de Bangladesh y Pakistán (Modaes, empresas edition) · search the archive · April 2024: Tendam joined the International Accord, as part of its global agreement with unions
  3. Tendam, dependencia de China (Vozpópuli) · search the archive · 2023: China 30.61%, Bangladesh 29.35%, Myanmar 14.21%, Vietnam 1.55% of purchases
  4. Multiply Group completes acquisition of Spanish apparel maker Tendam (Arabian Business) · search the archive · Multiply Group, Abu Dhabi, completed its majority acquisition of Tendam in 2025

Published by Cortefiel or its owner

  1. Cortefiel (Tendam brands) · search the archive · Founded 1945; total looks for women and men; more than 250 points of sale in 51 countries; online at cortefiel.com
  2. Cortefiel online store (Spain) · search the archive · Sells men's and women's clothing, footwear and accessories; site serves Spain only
  3. Product sustainability (Tendam) · search the archive · amfori member since 2017; Better Cotton member since 2021; 2021 framework agreement lets UGT and CCOO visit supplier workplaces

Company details

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

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