Gildan
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Montreal company selling blank T-shirts, fleece, socks and underwear.
In 2022, a supplier factory closed without paying workers their wages and severance.
Also worth knowing
Gildan has only partly put this right.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no proof yet of a living wage, clear breaches of labour conditions and a problem with pay, rights or safety with no fix shown. 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: unpaid or underpaid wages, last recorded in 2022.
- Checks its own supply chain. Gildan looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found forced labour in 2024 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. Other problems on its record count against the grade: a labour rights breach in 2017, unpaid or underpaid wages in 2013 and unpaid or underpaid wages in 2022. 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: working towards one
- Not met: Respects worker rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: labour rights breach, last recorded in 2017
- 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 it isn't fixingIts own checks found signs of forced labour, which it is fixing. That's listed below and doesn't count against the grade.
- 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 (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No proof yet that it pays a living wage (it's working towards one)
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Red flag: A confirmed problem with pay, rights or safety not shown to be put rightShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Gildan'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 | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honduras | 70% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Bangladesh | 20% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 4% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | 2% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| CambodiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | under 1% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- 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.
Research notes Gildan makes most of its clothing in its own vertically integrated factories in Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Bangladesh, with yarn spun in the US; contractors account for about 16% of manufacturing spend. It bought HanesBrands in December 2025, and its factory list does not yet cover Hanes sites. It publishes a factory list, is accredited by the Fair Labor Association, and 55% of its workers are covered by collective agreements. It scored 46/100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report, has no public living wage target, and has not signed the International Accord.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Gildan Activewear Inc (Gildan, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, Alstyle, Gold Toe) scored 46 out of 100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (average 31.5), after 50 in 2024. View |
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Gildan Activewear scored 54% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Publishes a combined modern slavery report under the Australian, UK and Canadian laws; the 2026 report (year to December 2025) gives no case counts, while the 2024 report recorded 31 working-hours forced labour indicators. View |
Confirmed issues 4
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 | Gildan's 2024 modern slavery report records 31 forced labour indicator cases, all linked to working hours, at its own and contractor factories, down from 42 in 2023.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. | PartlyGildan reported 23 of the 31 cases corrected during 2024 through corrective action plans and follow-up audits. |
| 2022 | The Worker Rights Consortium found that APS, a factory in El Salvador making goods for buyers including Gildan and Hanesbrands, closed in August 2022 owing its 831 workers about US$2 million in wages, severance and legal benefits (WRC, 2024). Source · search the archive | PartlyGildan, Kellwood and buying agent Alwants committed US$1.34m between them (67%); about $659,000 was still owed in 2024, with Hanesbrands, now Gildan's, offering little. |
| 2017 | In January 2023 Honduras' Supreme Court ruled that Gildan unjustly dismissed five workers at its San Miguel factory in 2017 and violated their labour rights (BCGEU shareholder brief, 2024). Source · search the archive | Not knownThe court ordered the five workers reinstated with back pay; Gildan closed the San Miguel plant later in 2023 and no source confirms it complied. |
| 2013 | A 2013 Worker Rights Consortium study found Haitian garment factories, including contractors sewing for Gildan, denied workers almost a third of their legal wages (WRC via CEPR, 2013). | PartlyGildan promised contractor workers would get at least Haiti's minimum wage and called an industry meeting; no back pay for past underpayment was confirmed. |
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.
- A 2024 shareholder brief by the BCGEU union says Gildan's 2023 closure of its San Miguel plant in Honduras left about 400 workers with work injuries without medical care or a route to disability pensions, and that a 2023 factory assessment found medical checks used to detect pregnancy; Gildan says it complied with Honduran law. Source
- IndustriALL Global Union said in 2018 that union leaders were fired at a Gildan contractor in Haiti after a 2017 minimum wage strike and that 28 union members were fired at Gildan Mayan Textiles in Honduras; Gildan said it began reinstating the Honduran workers and remedied four of five Haitian cases. Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- WRC findings and company responses at APS El Salvador (2024) · search the archive · 831 workers owed about $2m after 2022 closure; Gildan, Kellwood, Alwants committed $1.34m; $659,000 outstanding; Hanesbrands minuscule offer
- Gildan Brands Australia - Shop Ethical (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · 2026 Ethical Fashion Report: Gildan Activewear 46/100 (average 31.5); FTI 2023 54%; not an Accord signatory; owns HanesBrands since 2025
- BCGEU spotlights human rights at Gildan Activewear AGM (Manifest) · search the archive · Honduran Supreme Court ruled in Jan 2023 that five San Miguel workers fired in 2017 were unjustly dismissed
- Haiti minimum wage and the WRC report (CEPR) · search the archive · WRC 2013: Haitian workers denied about a third of legal wages; Gildan named; Gildan promised minimum wage compliance
Published by Gildan or its owner
- Gildan 2025 sustainability performance tables · search the archive · 48,406 employees in 2025 (excl. HanesBrands); contractors 16% of manufacturing spend; 55% covered by collective agreements; 46 social audits
- Gildan - Our factories · search the archive · Publishes a map and downloadable list of owned facilities and selected contractors (February 2026 update)
- Gildan 2024 Modern Slavery Report · search the archive · 0 child labour cases; 31 working-hours forced labour cases in 2024, 23 corrected; 95 pay non-compliances at contractors
Company details
- Headquarters
- Canada
- Employees
- About 48,406
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Gildan ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/gildan, 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 basics
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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 Gildan.