Hisense
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources
Chinese maker of TVs, fridges, washing machines and aircon.
In 2024, a Hisense-owned factory in China took Xinjiang workers sent under state labour transfers, including from an internment camp.
Also worth knowing
There's no public record of Hisense putting this right.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Hisense? Send a right of reply.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and untraced high-risk mined materials. 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 with no public record of it being put right: forced labour, last recorded in 2024.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its products are made in countries such as China and Malaysia, 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
- Not met: Traces its cobalt, gold and other conflict minerals to the mine
Red flags 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made partly 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
- Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't traceShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 3 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Hisense says it makes products in China. Press and retailer reports name Mexico, Slovenia and South Africa. The rest is shown as where electronics are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Mexico | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Slovenia | Strong protections | Not rated | Moderate |
| South Africa | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| TaiwanUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold mining carry child and forced labour risk (DR Congo, Indonesia), and assembly overtime is widespread.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Relies on metals such as cobalt, gold and tin from artisanal mines where miners, including children, face toxic dust, mercury exposure and deadly tunnel collapses. It hasn't shown any steps to trace these materials to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Hisense makes most of what it sells in Australia in its own group factories, in China and Europe, with large plants in China, Mexico, Slovenia and South Africa, but gives no country shares. Hisense Australia says group factories are checked by third-party BSCI and customer audits but publishes no audit results or supplier list. In 2025 the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found Xinjiang workers sent under state transfers at a Hisense factory in Guangdong from 2018 to 2024; Hisense denies it. Hisense USA is an RBA member, but the code is not applied across the group, and there is no living wage commitment.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Hisense Australia publishes modern slavery statements; it says most products come from Hisense group factories in China and Europe, checked by BSCI and customer audits. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Graded F in Baptist World Aid's 2016 Electronics Industry report for efforts against forced labour, child labour and exploitation. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | Named by ASPI in 2020 among 83 brands linked to factories using transferred Uyghur workers. View |
Confirmed issues 2
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 | The Bureau of Investigative Journalism found more than 150 people were sent from the Xinye internment camp in Xinjiang to a Hisense-owned factory in Guangdong in 2018, per state media, and Douyin posts suggest it still took Xinjiang workers at the government's behest in 2024 (TBIJ, 2025). Source · search the archive | Not knownHisense denies taking part in any forced labour transfer or abuse; no other action has been reported. |
| 2019 | Link through a supplierThe Australian Strategic Policy Institute found Uyghur workers transferred under conditions strongly suggesting forced labour to Hefei Bitland and Sichuan Mianyang Jingweida, which list Hisense as a partner or customer (ASPI, 2020). Source · search the archive | Not knownNo public response from Hisense to the findings 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.
- Good Shopping Guide cites a China Labor Watch report finding illegal use of student interns, high work intensity and poor food and housing in factories supplying Hisense (China Labor Watch, 2023). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 6
Show all 6 sources
- Hisense Australia (Good Shopping Guide) · search the archive · Cites ASPI 2020, China Labor Watch 2023 and Baptist World Aid 2016 F grade
- How big brands and foreign money prop up Chinese forced labour (TBIJ, 2025) · search the archive · Over 150 people sent from Xinye camp to Hisense in Guangdong in 2018; Douyin posts suggest transfers into 2024; Hisense denies
- Who Makes Hisense TVs And Where Are They Built? (SlashGear) · search the archive · Hisense TV factories in China, Mexico, Slovenia and South Africa
- Uyghurs for Sale (Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2020) · search the archive · Uyghur workers transferred to Hefei Bitland and Sichuan Mianyang Jingweida, which list Hisense among partners or customers
Published by Hisense or its owner
- Hisense Australia Modern Slavery Statement 2023 · search the archive · Products mostly from Hisense group makers in China and Europe; 14 group production sites; BSCI and customer audits; 103 staff
- Hisense USA: Responsible Business Alliance · search the archive · Hisense USA commits to the RBA Code in its own operations and first-tier suppliers
Company details
- Headquarters
- China
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Hisense ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/hisense, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Other TV and audio brands
Nothing we've rated in TV and audio is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Hisense.