Cotopaxi
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
US outdoor brand selling colourful backpacks, bags and jackets.
In 2024, migrant workers at Taiwanese textile suppliers, including two of Cotopaxi's fabric mills, were charged predatory recruitment fees.
Also worth knowing
Cotopaxi has only partly put this right.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Cotopaxi? Send a right of reply.
Compare Cotopaxi with another brand
Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and forced or child labour. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it has only partly put right: forced labour, last recorded in 2024.
- Checks its own supply chain. Cotopaxi looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found unsafe conditions in 2022 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. Another problem on its record counts against the grade: forced labour in 2024. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 3 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in China, Vietnam and India.
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listPublishes its supplier list
- Met: High-risk raw materials (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeUpcycled or deadstock: cotton
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Cotopaxi's own disclosure: it publishes its supplier list. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Cambodia | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Philippines | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| BangladeshUsual 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 |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for clothes and shoes: uses upcycled or deadstock material for much of its cotton.
- Publishes supplier list
- Independent social audits of all its main factories
- Upcycled, deadstock or remade materials
- Uses recycled metals or fibres
- Not all of its cotton is upcycled or deadstock. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes Cotopaxi is a privately held US benefit corporation and a certified B Corp since 2015. It publishes a supplier list covering its factories and fabric mills in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Cambodia, Taiwan and elsewhere, and says all Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers are audited by third parties. About 28% of items shipped in 2023 came from Fair Trade USA certified factories, so this certification does not cover most of the range, and it publishes no living wage figures for factory workers. In Australia it is sold through outdoor retailers such as Wildfire Sports in Brisbane.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| B Corp directory | Certified | Certified B Corp since December 2015, overall score 125.6. View |
| Fair Wear | Not listed | Not known to be a Fair Wear member. View |
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Not covered | Not an Australian-made brand; not expected in the Ethical Clothing Australia directory. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Unclear | Transparentem's 2024 Taiwan recruitment-fee findings, which involved Cotopaxi suppliers, are covered on the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre; Cotopaxi's own profile was not checked. 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 | A 2024 Transparentem investigation found forced labour indicators linked to predatory recruitment fees charged to migrant workers at Taiwanese textile suppliers, including two fabric mills used by Cotopaxi. Source · archived copy | PartlyCotopaxi visited its Taiwan suppliers in December 2024 and repaid workers the share of recruitment fees linked to its own production volume at the two mills. |
| 2022 | A 2022 third-party audit of a main Cotopaxi supplier in the Philippines found potentially predatory recruitment through an agency, workers paying for pre-employment medical checks, limited bathroom access, partly blocked exits and too few fire suppressants, as reported in Cotopaxi's own impact reports.Found 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. | YesFunded remediation and re-audits with Elevate and two other brands; the safety issues were fixed and the agency was found not to use debt bondage. |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- B Corp directory: Cotopaxi · search the archive · Certified B Corp since December 2015; overall score 125.6; Workers score 24.0; HQ Utah.
- Supply Chain Dive: Cotopaxi supplier remediation program (2024) · search the archive · 2022 audit at a Philippine Tier 1 supplier found recruitment risk, blocked exits and limited bathroom access; remediated with Elevate and two brands.
- Supply Chain Dive: Cotopaxi repays workers at Taiwan mills for predatory recruitment fees (2026) · archived copy · Transparentem's 2024 probe found forced labour signs at Taiwanese suppliers of 40+ buyers incl. Cotopaxi; it repaid workers at two mills pro rata.
- Wildfire Sports: Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Pack · search the archive · Cotopaxi sold by an Australian outdoor retailer with a store in Milton, Queensland, offering click and collect.
Published by Cotopaxi or its owner
- Cotopaxi Impact Report 2025 · search the archive · About 220 staff end 2025; audits of all Tier 1 and 2 suppliers; repaid Taiwan mill workers' fees pro rata; no other forced labour findings.
- Cotopaxi Impact Report 2023 · search the archive · About 28.5% of items shipped in 2023 were Fair Trade USA Certified; 2022 audit findings at a principal Philippine supplier and their remediation.
- Cotopaxi: Our Manufacturing Partners · search the archive · Names factories in the Philippines, China, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the US, and fabric mills, with profiles of each.
Company details
- Headquarters
- United States
- Employees
- About 220
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Cotopaxi ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/cotopaxi, 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 outdoor
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 Cotopaxi.