Haier
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Chinese appliance group making fridges, washing machines and aircon.
In 2024, a part-owned Haier motor factory in China took Uyghur workers sent under state labour transfers.
Also worth knowing
Haier hasn't put this right.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries 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 hasn't put right: forced labour, last recorded in 2024.
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 rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as China and Indonesia, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not 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 listMakes its products in its own factories
- Met: High-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNone recorded in a major share of its range
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- 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 Haier's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where homewares and appliances are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| PolandUsual for the industry | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- No high-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) are recorded in a major share of its range, so the raw-material check doesn't hold it back for Good.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
Research notes Haier makes its appliances mainly in its own factories: it reports 35 industrial parks and 163 manufacturing centres, with a local-for-local model of factories in each main market, but names few countries (China and a plant in Indonesia), gives no production shares and publishes no factory or supplier list. Its 2025 sustainability report says 95% of suppliers are covered by social responsibility audits but gives no findings, and it discloses nothing on wages or a living wage. In 2025 the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found Uyghur workers sent under state transfers at a part-owned Haier motor factory and at Haier suppliers; Haier did not respond.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Haier-branded appliances in Australia are covered by Fisher & Paykel Australia's modern slavery statements; the 2025 statement reports no cases and no audit results. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Haier Group was graded D- in Baptist World Aid's 2016 Behind the Barcode electronics assessment for efforts against forced labour, child labour and exploitation. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Listed among 83 brands named in ASPI's 2020 Uyghurs for Sale report; no Haier response is recorded. View |
Confirmed issues 3
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link through a supplierThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism identified at least five factories in three Chinese provinces supplying Haier with parts for washing machines, fridges and air conditioners that had ethnic minority workers from Xinjiang (TBIJ, 2025). Source · search the archive | Not knownHaier did not respond to the Bureau's requests for comment; no action on the suppliers has been reported. |
| 2024 | The Bureau of Investigative Journalism found state media confirmed Uyghurs were transferred from 2018 to a part-owned Haier factory in Shandong that ships motors to Haier's factories, with social media placing Xinjiang workers there into early 2024 (TBIJ, 2025). Source · search the archive | NoHaier did not respond to requests for comment, and no remedy for affected workers has been reported. |
| 2018 | Link through a supplierAn Australian Strategic Policy Institute report in 2020 named Haier among 83 brands linked to Uyghur workers transferred from Xinjiang in 2018, because two Chinese electronics factories (Hubei Yihong and Hefei Bitland) listed Haier among their customers; Meiling, which took transferred workers, was an exclusive supplier to Candy, now Haier-owned (ASPI, 2020). Source · search the archive | Not knownNo Haier response to the report is recorded, and no action has been reported. |
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 2023 China Labor Watch survey of workers' social media posts from 2018 to 2023 listed a Haier factory in Shandong for excessive hours, wage theft and arrears, forced overtime and verbal abuse, including a 2020 worker account from Haier in Qingdao (China Labor Watch, 2023). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Labor Conditions in China's Consumer Electronics Sector (China Labor Watch, 2023) · search the archive · Social media survey lists Haier (Shandong) for excessive hours, wage arrears, forced overtime and bullying; 2020 Qingdao worker account
- Haier Smart Home - Shop Ethical! (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · Behind the Barcode 2016 grade D-; ASPI 2020 and China Labor Watch 2023 criticisms
- How big brands and foreign money prop up Chinese forced labour (TBIJ, 2025) · search the archive · Uyghurs transferred from 2018 to a part-owned Haier factory in Shandong, into early 2024; five supplier factories had Xinjiang workers; no reply
- Uyghurs for Sale (ASPI, 2020) · search the archive · Hubei Yihong and Hefei Bitland list Haier as a customer; Meiling exclusive supplier to Candy; both took transferred Uyghur workers in 2018
Published by Haier or its owner
- Haier Corporation Profile · search the archive · Over 130,000 employees, 35 industrial parks, 163 manufacturing centres; lists the PT Haier Electrical Appliances Indonesia factory
- Haier Smart Home 2025 sustainability report · search the archive · Social responsibility audits cover 95% of suppliers; minerals checks on 1,607 suppliers; no audit findings, factory countries or wage data published
- Fisher & Paykel Australia Modern Slavery Statement 2025 · search the archive · Covers Haier-branded products sold in Australia; owned by Haier; 100% of direct suppliers assessed; no cases reported
Company details
- Headquarters
- China
- Employees
- About 130,000
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Haier ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/haier, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Haier.