Labour Lens

Dunelm

Lacks transparency

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

Homewares, furniture & appliances

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 23 October 2026 · 6 sources

UK homewares retailer selling bedding, curtains, furniture and decor.

Dunelm can't show that the workers who make its products in Vietnam and India earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 2 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.

How grades are decided

  • Checks its own supply chain. Dunelm looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found unpaid or underpaid wages in 2024 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. It's listed below under Confirmed issues.

Good requirements 2 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
  • 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) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton

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

Where it's made

Dunelm names some of the countries it makes in: China, India, Pakistan, Türkiye, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. The rest is shown as where homewares and appliances are usually made.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
ChinaNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
VietnamSystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
IndiaNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
PakistanNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageHigh
TürkiyeNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageVery high
United KingdomRegular violationsClose to a living wageLow
PolandUsual for the industryRegular violationsClose to a living wageModerate
IndonesiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
MalaysiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate

Evidence

What we found

  • Modern slavery statement
  • Independent social audits of all its main factories
  • Makes part of its range in its own factories
  • 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.

Research notes Dunelm's own-brand goods come from about 340 suppliers at 859 tier 1 sites in 28 countries, mainly China, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam and the UK; it makes made-to-measure curtains and blinds in its own Leicester and Cannock plants. It does not publish a factory list or country shares. 99% of tier 1 suppliers had an in-date third-party ethical audit in FY24, backed by unannounced spot checks. Its cotton policy bans Xinjiang cotton and targeted all own-brand cotton as Better Cotton, organic or recycled by 2025, with no progress figure published. No living wage commitment for supplier workers is published.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
UK Modern Slavery Statement RegistryListedDunelm Group plc publishes a UK Modern Slavery Act statement; the FY24 statement covers c.340 suppliers and 859 tier 1 sites. View

Confirmed issues 1

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 recordedWhat happenedMade amends?
2024Dunelm's FY24 modern slavery statement reports that its unannounced spot checks found 14 policy breaches at suppliers, mostly unauthorised subcontracting, plus wages withheld for over 30 days and high-risk health and safety problems (Dunelm, 2024). Source · archived copyFound 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.PartlyDunelm says breaches require immediate corrective action plans and carry financial penalties for suppliers; no remedy for workers is reported.

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Correspondence with Dunelm relating to Xinjiang, February 2021 (UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee) · Foreign Affairs Committee published its February 2021 correspondence with Dunelm on Xinjiang cotton as part of its Xinjiang detention camps inquiry
  2. Dewsbury trafficking scandal: how did these high street retailers fail to notice their beds were made by slaves? (Yorkshire Post, Feb 2016) · Dunelm was supplied by Kozee Sleep, a Dewsbury bed maker using trafficked Hungarian workers; owner jailed 2016; retailers' ethical audits found nothing.
  3. forward2me - Order from Dunelm UK · search the archive · Dunelm delivers across the UK; overseas buyers need a forwarding service

Published by Dunelm or its owner

  1. Dunelm Modern Slavery Statement FY24 · archived copy · c.340 suppliers, 859 tier 1 sites in 28 countries; key countries CN, IN, PK, TR, VN, UK; 99% audited; 14 breaches found in spot checks; own Leicester and Cannock plants; 11,500 staff
  2. Dunelm Modern Slavery Statement 2022 · search the archive · Most own-brand stock made in the Far East; 371 suppliers with 839 sites in 32 countries
  3. Dunelm Responsible Cotton Policy 2022 · search the archive · Cotton in most textile products; Xinjiang ban; 100% responsibly sourced cotton target by 2025, no progress figures

Company details

Headquarters
United Kingdom
Employees
About 11,500
Last researched
23 October 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Dunelm ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/dunelm, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Better-graded bedding and textiles

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