Estée Lauder

• Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: mica is dug partly by children in India and Madagascar, and the palm-oil ingredients in soaps, shampoos and creams come from plantations on the US list for forced and child labour. Carnauba wax, jasmine and vanilla add slave-like work and child labour on farms.
• Makes part of its range in its own factories
• Modern slavery statement
• Traces or certifies most but not all of its palm oil. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
• Uses natural mica, much of it dug by hand in illegal or unregulated mines in India and Madagascar, where children work and pits collapse. It hasn't shown any steps on its mica, such as switching to synthetic mica, joining the Responsible Mica Initiative or tracing it to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does. Source

Research notes Estée Lauder products are made mainly in the group's own plants in the United States, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, the UK and Canada, plus third-party makers it doesn't name or count; Estée Lauder Australia makes nothing here and ships from a Singapore hub. The group's palm ingredients are all RSPO certified, 97% through physical supply chains (2024), but it doesn't say how much mica its make-up uses or where it comes from, beyond a child-labour programme in Jharkhand and Bihar, and isn't confirmed as a Responsible Mica Initiative member. It audits higher-risk suppliers through third parties and reports compliance gaps in hours and wages (FY2025), but publishes no supplier list and no living wage commitment.