Hugo Boss
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
German fashion house selling BOSS and HUGO clothing.
Forced labour was found in Hugo Boss's supply chain in 2017, which it has only partly put right, and it has no full independent audit.
Better-graded suits and tailoring
Graded higher than Hugo Boss, selling the same kinds of things.
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No suits and tailoring brand selling new goods is Good yet. These are the strongest so far.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 5 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, clear breaches of labour conditions, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and a problem with pay, rights or safety with no fix shown. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2021) was a link through a supplier, which the company has acted on.
- 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.
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 rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: union rights breach, last recorded in 2016
- 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 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 5
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- 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
- 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 4 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 Hugo Boss'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 19% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| Bangladesh | 14% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| China | 13% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | 11% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Portugal | Not given | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Bulgaria | Not given | Regular violations | Below a living wage | High |
| Italy | Not given | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Germany | Not given | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Poland | Not given | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
| Switzerland | Not given | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| CambodiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- 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 Hugo Boss made 17% of its 2025 volume in its own five factories in Turkey, Germany, Poland, Italy and Switzerland, mostly at Izmir; the rest comes from 178 outside suppliers. Turkey (24%), Bangladesh (12%), Vietnam (9%) and China (6%) are its main sourcing countries; Portugal, Bulgaria and Italy are named without shares. It publishes a supplier list and has a Global Framework Agreement with a union, but discloses no living wage targets. Frasers Group took a majority stake in October 2026.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | Hugo Boss does not appear as a Fairtrade-certified textile brand or licensee in Fairtrade sources. View |
| Fair Wear | Not listed | Hugo Boss does not appear as a Fair Wear member and has no Brand Performance Check published. View |
| B Corp directory | Not listed | Hugo Boss is not listed as a Certified B Corporation. Lever Style Corporation, a certified B Corp apparel manufacturer, names Hugo Boss as one of its customers. View |
| World Fair Trade Organization | Not listed | Hugo Boss is not listed as a WFTO Guaranteed Fair Trade member. View |
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Not listed | Hugo Boss does not appear as an Ethical Clothing Australia accredited brand. View |
| Open Supply Hub | Not listed | No Hugo Boss factory listing could be established from Open Supply Hub. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Scored 40/100 in the 2024 Ethical Fashion Report; no 2026 score is shown on its ethical.org.au page. View |
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Scored 55/100 in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, the latest full index. View |
| KnowTheChain | Listed | Scored 28/100 in KnowTheChain's 2023 apparel and footwear benchmark. View |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Listed | Scored 49.4% on the World Benchmarking Alliance's 2026 human rights assessment (24.2/100 in the 2023 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark). View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Not listed | No Hugo Boss statement could be confirmed on the Australian Modern Slavery Register. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Not listed | No Hugo Boss statement could be confirmed on the UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Not listed | No US Department of Labor goods list entry specific to Hugo Boss could be established. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | No UFLPA Entity List or CBP Withhold Release Order entry for Hugo Boss could be established. In March 2021 Hugo Boss was reported as saying it would keep buying Xinjiang cotton, then withdrew that statement and said it does not tolerate forced labour. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has a company profile for Hugo Boss with 16 listed items and 2 other allegations. It notes a Global Framework Agreement with a trade union and a commitment to the Transparency Pledge. Fashion Checker found no public evidence that suppliers pay a living wage. A View |
Confirmed issues 5
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Link through a supplierThe Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 'Uyghurs for sale' report named Esquel as using or benefiting from Uyghur forced labour, the US restricted an Esquel Xinjiang subsidiary in 2020, and BuzzFeed News reported in 2021 that Hugo Boss was still importing Esquel-made clothing into the US (ASPI; BuzzFeed News, 2021). Source · search the archiveActed on The company has acted on this link, so it no longer counts against the grade. | YesHugo Boss said it does not tolerate forced labour and reportedly quietly cut ties with Esquel after the 2021 reports. It did not disclose where Esquel's cotton came from. |
| 2017 | A 2018 Guardian investigation found young migrant women confined on the premises of factories run by Best Corporation, a Hugo Boss body-wear supplier in Tamil Nadu, India; the supplier acknowledged restricting workers' movement, and Hugo Boss's 2016 sustainability report had already flagged freedom-of-movement concerns (The Guardian, 2018). Source · search the archive | PartlyHugo Boss said it was in regular contact with the supplier about improvements, but also denied that worker confinement exists in its supply chain. |
| 2017 | A Worker Rights Consortium investigation found that when the Heart and Mind Apparel factory in Thailand, which made Hugo Boss-branded clothing, closed in December 2017, it denied 98 workers about $150,000 in legally owed severance and used threats and locked workers in a room to force resignations (Worker Rights Consortium, 2024). Source · search the archive | NoMarc Jacobs, PVH and El Corte Ingles contributed funds, but the Worker Rights Consortium says Hugo Boss has paid nothing; about $78,000 is still unpaid. |
| 2016 | Turkish courts, including the High Court of Appeals, ruled that 20 union supporters sacked between 2011 and 2014 at Hugo Boss's own Izmir factory were illegally dismissed for union membership, and a 2016 Fair Labor Association assessment found that 290 workers were dismissed in 2011-12 as unionisation began, in a pattern linked to the union drive (ITUC survey; FLA via WWD/Sourcing Journal, 2016). Source · search the archive | PartlyHugo Boss paid extra compensation instead of reinstating the workers and says it stays neutral on unions. The Fair Labor Association closed the complaint in July 2016. |
| 2016 | A Fair Labor Association assessment found Turkish labour law violations at Hugo Boss's own Izmir factory, including failure to pay fair wages to trainees, and a 2013-14 Clean Clothes Campaign survey found many workers paid below the poverty threshold, with pay cuts used as punishment (FLA and Clean Clothes Campaign, reported by WWD and Morning Star, 2016). Source · search the archive | PartlyHugo Boss has since published a fair-compensation programme and a living-wage pilot at its own sites; no independent check shows the Izmir pay problems were fixed. |
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.
- In 2022, 28 organisations complained to Canada's ethics watchdog (CORE) that Hugo Boss Canada's supply chain used or benefited from Uyghur forced labour via suppliers including Texhong, which Sheffield Hallam University's 'Laundering Cotton' report linked to Uyghur forced labour; CORE closed the complaint in March 2024 after a settlement, with terms not made public (Just Style, 2024). Source
- In 2022, isotope tests reported by German broadcaster NDR found Xinjiang cotton matching garments from Adidas, Hugo Boss and Puma; Hugo Boss said it has no direct supplier in Xinjiang and its audits found no indication of forced labour (Sourcing Journal, 2022). Source
- In September 2021 the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights filed a criminal complaint in Germany alleging that Hugo Boss, Lidl and other brands directly or indirectly profited from Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang; Hugo Boss said its audits found no indication of forced labour (ECCHR, 2021). Source
- A 2012 activist report alleged that 38 workers were sacked for union organising at Texim, a Turkish factory producing clothing for Hugo Boss and Pierre Cardin. In November 2012 Texim settled, reinstating the sacked workers at higher pay and paying them for the four-month picket (IndustriALL, 2012). Source
- In 2023 the Clean Clothes Campaign reported that Lanka Leather Fashion, a Sri Lankan supplier to Hugo Boss, refused to recognise a union and dismissed union officers from 2021; Hugo Boss said it takes such claims very seriously, and a complaint was filed with Germany's Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2023). Source
- In May 2024 a German union network filed a complaint under Germany's supply chain law against Levi's, Hugo Boss and Inditex over the dismissal of union members at Özak Tekstil in Şanlıurfa, Turkey, in late 2023. Hugo Boss said it buys only from Özak's Malatya site, not Şanlıurfa; no outcome has been reported (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2024). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Hugo Boss AG - Shop Ethical (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · Ethical Fashion Report 2024: 40/100; Fashion Transparency Index 2023: 55; KnowTheChain 2023: 28/100; WBA 2026 human rights: 49.4%.
- ITUC survey - Hugo Boss factory continues · search the archive · Turkish court rulings that Izmir union dismissals were illegal.
- BHRRC - Guardian investigation finds workers confined in factories supplying Hugo Boss · search the archive · Best Corporation worker confinement in Tamil Nadu.
- Worker Rights Consortium - Heart and Mind Apparel Co., Ltd. · search the archive · Unpaid severance for 98 workers; about $78,000 still unpaid and Hugo Boss has made no contribution.
- FashionUnited - Frasers takes control of Hugo Boss as stake crosses 50% · search the archive · Frasers Group's stake in Hugo Boss AG reached 50.08% in October 2026, making it the majority owner.
- BuzzFeed News - Xinjiang forced labor, Hugo Boss and Esquel · search the archive · Hugo Boss importing Esquel-made clothing in 2021.
Published by Hugo Boss or its owner
- HUGO BOSS Annual Report 2025 - Business Operations · search the archive · 2025: Turkey 24%, Bangladesh 12%, Vietnam 9%, China 6% of volume; 17% own production at five sites; Portugal, Bulgaria, Italy named.
Company details
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Employees
- About 17,500
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Hugo Boss ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/hugo-boss, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Hugo Boss.