JinkoSolar
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 1 November 2026 · 14 sources
Chinese maker of solar panels, cells and wafers, based in Shangrao and Shanghai.
JinkoSolar's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2023, which it has only partly acted on, and it has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 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.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2023) was a link through a supplier, which the company has only partly 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 0 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 China, 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
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces the silicon in its panels to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang (for batteries and inverters: traces its battery metals to the mine)
Red flags 3
- 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
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
JinkoSolar says which countries it makes its products in, but doesn't name the factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: about a third of the world's polysilicon and silicon metal is made in Xinjiang, where state-run labour transfers amount to forced labour, and home batteries rely on cobalt, lithium and other metals linked to child and forced labour.
- Traces the silicon in some of its panels, or only back to the polysilicon plant
- Modern slavery statement
- It traces some of its silicon, or traces it only to the polysilicon plant, but doesn't show that the panels it sells here use silicon traced back to the smelter outside Xinjiang.
Research notes JinkoSolar makes wafers in Jiangxi, Qinghai, Sichuan and Shanxi, cells and modules in several Chinese provinces, and also has factories in Vietnam and the US (the US plant serves the US market); it does not say which factories make the panels sold in Australia. It traces silicon only to the polysilicon plant (SSI Bronze) at two module factories and names no polysilicon or silicon-metal suppliers, saying only that its five largest suppliers make up 85% of purchases. It sold its Xinjiang ingot plant in 2023-24, says it bans forced labour and monitors its own factories, but publishes no supplier list or audit results. Shop Ethical! grades JinkoSolar Australia C (updated October 2026), citing Sheffield Hallam's forced labour findings and a high ESG risk score; it isn't counted as a rating.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Solar Stewardship Initiative certified sites | Listed | Solar Stewardship Initiative traceability at Bronze (only to the polysilicon plant) for two Chinese module factories, Feidong and Shangrao Guangxin, valid to December 2026; one ESG certificate is current (Shangrao, Silver), and two others expired in 2026. View |
| Renewable Energy & Human Rights Benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) | Listed | Assessed in the 2025 Renewable Energy & Human Rights Benchmark (35 wind and solar companies), which found no company publicly discloses its full solar supply chain. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Sheffield Hallam University's 2023 assessment, posted by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, rated JinkoSolar's exposure to Uyghur forced labour in its supply chain 'high'. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Jinko Solar Australia Holdings Co. Pty Ltd lodges modern slavery statements every year from 2020 to 2025. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | JinkoSolar and its subsidiaries are not on the UFLPA Entity List (29 October 2026 edition); its former Xinjiang polysilicon supplier Xinjiang Daqo is listed. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names Chinese polysilicon and metallurgical-grade silicon as made with forced labour, and Chinese ingots, wafers, solar cells and modules as made with those inputs. View |
Confirmed issues 1
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University found that JinkoSolar ran ingot and wafer factories in Xinjiang industrial parks that also held Uyghur detention centres and prisons, and was linked to state labour transfers through its Xinjiang polysilicon supplier Daqo (now on the US forced labour Entity List); it sold the Xinjiang ingot plant in 2023 (In Broad Daylight, 2021; Over-Exposed, 2023). Source · archived copy | PartlyJinkoSolar sold its Xinjiang subsidiary in February 2024 and says it has no operations there; it traces silicon only to the polysilicon plant (SSI Bronze) at two module sites. |
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.
- JinkoSolar said in September 2021 that some of its modules had been stopped by US Customs, which asked for more documents after its ban on silicon products from Xinjiang's Hoshine; the company later said Customs progressively released detained shipments (Reuters, 2021; JinkoSolar 20-F, 2026). Source
- Industry sources told Reuters that most of the 1,053 solar shipments US Customs held under its Uyghur forced labour law between June and October 2022 were made by LONGi, Trina Solar and JinkoSolar; a significant JinkoSolar shipment was later released (Reuters, 2022; Investing.com, 2023). Source
- Sheffield Hallam University rated JinkoSolar's exposure to Uyghur forced labour 'high', including its Vietnam, Malaysia and US supply chain, because of unknown sourcing (2023). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 14
Show all 14 sources
- Certified sites (Solar Stewardship Initiative) · search the archive · JinkoSolar Feidong and Shangrao Guangxin module sites: Supply Chain Traceability Bronze; ESG Silver at Shangrao Jinko PV Manufacturing; earlier ESG certificates expired 2026
- JinkoSolar Australia (Shop Ethical!, updated Oct 2026) · search the archive · Grade C; In Broad Daylight (2021): ingot and wafer factories co-located in parks with Uyghur detention centres and prisons, linked to labour transfers through polysilicon supplier Daqo; Over-Exposed (2023) high risk
- In Broad Daylight (Sheffield Hallam University, Helena Kennedy Centre) · search the archive · All Xinjiang polysilicon makers took part in labour transfers or were supplied by companies that did; 90 companies' supply chains affected
- Report from Sheffield Hallam University reveals significant risks of forced labor in solar supply chains (BHRRC, 2023) · search the archive · JinkoSolar: allegation of high exposure
- Renewable Energy and Human Rights Benchmark 2025 (BHRRC) · search the archive · JinkoSolar assessed; no company publicly discloses its full solar supply chain
- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. Form 20-F FY2025 (US SEC) · search the archive · Wafers made in Jiangxi, Qinghai, Sichuan and Shanxi; cells and modules in several Chinese provinces; factories in the US and Vietnam; Xinjiang Shibang Solar sold February 2024; CBP progressively released detained shipments; five largest suppliers 85.2% of 2025 purchases
- Statement #2023-791 (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · Jinko Solar Australia Holdings Co. Pty Ltd statement for 2022
- DHS announces addition of 37 PRC-based companies to UFLPA Entity List (2025) · search the archive · Solar wafer makers listed for sourcing Xinjiang polysilicon; JinkoSolar not among them
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Chinese polysilicon and metallurgical-grade silicon listed for forced labour; solar cells, modules, ingots and wafers for forced-labour inputs
- Australian Modern Slavery Register search: Jinko · search the archive · Jinko Solar Australia Holdings Co. Pty Ltd statements for 2020 to 2025
- Over-Exposed: Uyghur Region Exposure Assessment for Solar Industry Sourcing (Sheffield Hallam University, 2023) · archived copy · JinkoSolar rated HIGH; operated a Xinjiang ingot facility, sold May 2023; past Daqo Xinjiang purchases; Tongwei and Xinte Inner Mongolia contracts
- China's JinkoSolar says some panels being held at US border (Reuters via Yahoo Finance, 2021) · search the archive · Some modules stopped by CBP, which requested more documents, after the June 2021 Hoshine ban
- Roth Capital upgrades JinkoSolar: what you need to know about UFLPA (Investing.com, 2023) · search the archive · US Customs released a significant JinkoSolar shipment first held under the UFLPA
- US blocks more than 1,000 solar shipments over Chinese slave labor concerns (Reuters via ThePrint, 2022) · search the archive · Detained shipments mostly LONGi, Trina and JinkoSolar per industry sources
Company details
- Headquarters
- China
- Last researched
- 1 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is JinkoSolar ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/jinkosolar, last researched 1 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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