Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
US denim brand selling jeans, jackets and casualwear.
In 2023, migrant workers at Mauritius factories supplying the owner paid high recruitment fees and faced threats and poor housing.
Also worth knowing
Lee didn't act on it.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Lee? Send a right of reply.
Compare Lee with another brand
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, clear breaches of labour conditions 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 didn't act on: forced labour link, last recorded in 2023.
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 rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: abuse of workers, last recorded in 2019
- 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 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- 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 Kontoor Brands' supplier list, which covers Lee and its sister brands. Lee publishes no breakdown of its own, so these are group-wide shares. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 64% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| China | 13% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Pakistan | 6% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | 5% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| CambodiaUsual for the industry | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Independent social audits of all its main factories
- 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 Lee is made mostly by contract factories for Kontoor Brands, which runs more than 200 supplier factories and publishes its factory list quarterly. Kontoor says 57% of production is in Bangladesh and 27% in the Americas, with smaller shares in Pakistan, China and India. Factories are audited by Kontoor and third parties and must run a worker well-being programme, but Kontoor has no public living wage commitment and was named in 2023 among brands that had not signed the Pakistan Accord on factory safety.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Kontoor Brands, which owns Lee, scored 37 out of 100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (average 31.5), up from 30 in 2024. View |
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Kontoor Brands scored 33% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, above the 26% average. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | In June 2024 Kontoor Brands did not respond to the Resource Centre's questions on remediation for migrant workers at Mauritius supplier factories. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Link through a supplierA two-year Transparentem investigation completed in 2023 found high recruitment fees, deceptive recruitment, threats of deportation and abusive living conditions for migrant workers at Mauritius garment factories DDI and Firemount, which supplied Kontoor Brands; the brands made there are not named (Transparentem, 2023). Source · search the archive | NoTransparentem lists Kontoor among buyers that did not take part in remediation at DDI or Firemount; Kontoor did not answer the Resource Centre in 2024. |
| 2019 | A Worker Rights Consortium investigation found women were routinely pressured into sex by supervisors at Nien Hsing jeans factories in Lesotho that supplied Kontoor's Wrangler and Lee (WRC, 2019). Source · search the archive | PartlyKontoor signed binding 2019 agreements with Lesotho unions and women's groups, funding an independent complaints body and pledging to cut orders if the supplier breached them. |
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.
- Sheffield Hallam University's 2021 'Laundering Cotton' research listed Kontoor among brands at risk of Xinjiang forced-labour cotton through Chinese suppliers; Kontoor said its traceability audits found no such cotton (Sheffield Hallam, 2021). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Combating Gender-Based Violence in Lesotho (WRC) · search the archive · Kontoor (Wrangler and Lee) signed binding agreement covering Nien Hsing's five Lesotho factories
- Kontoor Brands - Good Shopping Guide (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · 2026 Ethical Fashion Report: Kontoor Brands (Lee, Wrangler) 37/100, average 31.5; FTI 2023 33%
- Laundering Cotton Annex D: corporate responses (Sheffield Hallam) · search the archive · Kontoor's 2021 response: requires cotton origin data, chain-of-custody audits found no forced-labour cotton
- I Came Here with So Many Dreams: Mauritius apparel factories (Transparentem) · search the archive · 2023 investigation: recruitment fees, deception, threats at DDI and Firemount; Kontoor did not take part in remediation
- Major fashion brands called out for not signing Pakistan safety accord (Just Style) · search the archive · July 2023: Clean Clothes Campaign named Kontoor Brands (Lee, Wrangler) among brands not signing the Pakistan Accord
Published by Lee or its owner
- Supply Chain - Kontoor Brands · search the archive · 3 owned plants, 200+ contract factories; Bangladesh 57%, Americas 27%, other 9%, Pakistan 4%, China 2%, India 1%; factory list updated quarterly
- Sustainability goals - Kontoor Brands · search the archive · 100% of in-scope factories support a worker well-being programme (2025); 98% preferred cotton; no living wage goal
Company details
- Owned by
- Kontoor Brands
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Lee ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/lee, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Better-graded basics
Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Lee.