Labour Lens

Frankie4

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 2 November 2026 · 6 sources

Australian women's footwear brand selling supportive leather shoes.

There's no proof Frankie4 pays more than the legal minimum, which in Vietnam is well below a living wage.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 4 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

Good requirements 4 of 6

  • Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
  • Met: Respects worker rights
  • 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
  • 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
  • Not met: High-risk raw materials (leather) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: leather

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

Accreditations 1

Where it's made

Vietnam has the largest share, 34%. Brazil is next, at 33%.

Where it's made, share by country, and conditions there
CountryShareWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
Vietnam34%Systematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
Brazil33%Systematic violationsBelow a living wageModerate
Taiwan33%Strong protectionsClose to a living wageLow

Evidence

What we found

  • Publishes supplier list
  • Independent social audits of all its main factories
  • Uses little or no cotton (e.g. wool, linen or leather products)
  • Doesn't show where its leather comes from. Leather is linked to hazardous tannery work and forced labour on some cattle ranches, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies it.

Research notes Frankie4 shoes are made by independent suppliers in Vietnam and Brazil, and its socks in Taiwan. Its published supplier list names three factories (FAB Voltax, Ho Chi Minh City; GVD Kuntzler, Rio Grande do Sul; Danken Enterprise, Changhua County), so the shares shown are factory counts, not volumes. Suppliers get annual SMETA social audits and the brand is a certified B Corp. Most shoes are leather and it sources through Leather Working Group certified suppliers, but it does not name tanneries or hide origins, and it has published no living wage commitment or audit results.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
B Corp directoryCertifiedCertified B Corp since May 2024 with an overall B Impact score of 85.7 (Workers 19.5, Community 20.5). View

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Frankie4 - B Corp Directory · search the archive · Certified B Corp since May 2024, score 85.7
  2. Frankie4 to be sold through nine David Jones flagships (Inside Retail) · search the archive · Brand still trading in Australia; stocked in nine David Jones stores from September 2025
  3. Frankie4 supplier list (Feb 2025) · search the archive · Names FAB Voltax (Vietnam, footwear), GVD Kuntzler (Brazil, footwear) and Danken Enterprise (Taiwan, socks)
  4. Brand Spotlight: Frankie4 Footwear (YouLookFab) · search the archive · Australian podiatrist-founded brand; footwear made in Brazil and Vietnam

Published by Frankie4 or its owner

  1. Our Supplier - FRANKIE4 · search the archive · Footwear made in Brazil and Vietnam, socks in Taiwan; annual SMETA audits; LWG membership and LWG-certified leather suppliers
  2. Responsibility - FRANKIE4 · search the archive · Supplier Code of Conduct, annual Sedex SMETA audits of suppliers; no living wage commitment stated

Company details

Headquarters
Australia
Last researched
2 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Frankie4 ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/frankie4, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

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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?

Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Frankie4.

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