Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Premium coffee brand selling capsules, beans and instant coffee.
L'OR can't show that the people who grow its coffee in Colombia and Honduras earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- 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 5
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its coffee is grown in countries such as Colombia and Honduras, 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
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksUnconfirmed reports of forced labour are listed below. They don't affect the grade.
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
Red flags 2
- 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
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using L'OR's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its coffee is grown
JDE Peet's figures name Brazil, Honduras and Uganda. Product labels show Colombia. The rest is shown as where coffee is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Colombia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Honduras | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Uganda | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| EthiopiaUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| PeruUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| GuatemalaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Papua New Guinea | We don't have labour ratings for this country yet. | ||
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: coffee is on the US Department of Labor child or forced labour list for over a dozen countries, and farm-gate prices often fall below a living income. (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing)
- Modern slavery statement
- Invests in worker and farming communities
Research notes L'OR says its capsules and beans, except one bulk bean product, use coffee from Rainforest Alliance certified farms; that label audits farms but sets no minimum price. Owner JDE Peet's buys from about 30 origins, including Brazil, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, and L'OR sells a Colombia single-origin capsule, but it publishes no shares or farm list. Brazilian farms linked to JDE's suppliers have been found using slave labour; in 2026 JDE began a four-year ILO project on these risks, but it has no living income target.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | JDE Peet's lodges a group modern slavery statement for 2025 (approved May 2026), naming child labour risks on coffee farms in Honduras and Uganda. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU lodges annual modern slavery statements; the 2024 statement does not name L'OR. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | BHRRC records JDE's response to the 2024 Bitter Brew report on slave labour in Brazil's coffee supply chain. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Coffee from Brazil is listed for child and forced labour, and coffee from Colombia, Honduras and several other origins for child labour. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not listed | Neither JDE Peet's nor owner Keurig Dr Pepper is among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
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.
- Brazilian inspectors rescued 87 workers from slave-like conditions in 2018 on farms supplying the Cooxupé cooperative, a coffee supplier to owner JDE (Conectas, 2024); no link to L'OR coffee has been shown. A 2018 OECD complaint by Conectas and the union ADERE-MG over the case closed in 2025 with no resolution. Source
- Repórter Brasil reported in 2025 that four farms of Cooxupé members were put on Brazil's slave-labour list over 36 workers, and that Cooxupé's exporter supplied JDE; JDE and other buyers said they had not sourced from those farms (BHRRC, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- JDE Peet's group modern slavery statement 2025 (UK registry) · search the archive · 2025 group statement approved May 2026; child labour risks in Honduras and Uganda coffee; childcare centres and remediation projects
- L'Or Espresso Coffee Pods Colombia (Woolworths) · search the archive · L'OR capsules, including a Colombia single-origin range, sold at Woolworths in Australia.
- OECD Watch: Conectas & ADERE-MG v. Jacobs Douwe Egberts · search the archive · Complaint filed 2018; JDE left mediation in 2024; final statement in 2025 with no resolution
- ILO and JDE Peet's launch FAIR COFFEE initiative (Devdiscourse, 2026) · search the archive · May 2026: four-year ILO and JDE Peet's project on child and forced labour risks in Bahia and Minas Gerais coffee
Published by L'OR or its owner
- L'OR: Rainforest Alliance · search the archive · L'OR capsules and beans, except Selection Grains 1kg, use beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.
- Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU Modern Slavery Statement 2024 · search the archive · JDE sources coffee from about 30 origins, including Brazil, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Uganda.
- JDE Peet's responsible sourcing · search the archive · 88.8% of green coffee responsibly sourced in 2025 under the HREDD process; this does not mean no abuses
Company details
- Headquarters
- Netherlands
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is L'OR ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/l-or-coffee, 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 L'OR.