Mandatory
On Track. Pays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 6 sources
Wellington menswear label making suits in its own workroom.
Mandatory makes its menswear and suiting in its own factories in New Zealand, where labour laws are strong and legal wages are about a living wage.
Best available in suits and tailoring. No brand in this category is Good yet, and Mandatory is the strongest we've rated: no serious red flags, and paying or working towards a living wage. How we pick
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Why it's graded On Track
- Not met: Meets 5 of 7 Good requirements.
- Met: No red flags.
Good requirements 5 of 7
- Met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: presumed because legal wages in New Zealand are about a living wage, not checked at the company
- Met: Respects worker rights
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standardsPresumed from where it's made, not audited
- Not met: Shows where its earlier production stages happen, not just the final oneA "Made in" claim can cover only the final stage. Earlier stages to show: yarn, fabric, dyeing and, for shoes, uppers
- 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: High-risk raw materials (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton
Red flags 0
None found.
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Mandatory'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.
Suits, Shirts, Pants & trousers, Jackets & coats, Knitwear: On Track, the same as Mandatory overall, because nothing we know differs between them.
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where it's made
From Mandatory's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Owns or runs its own production
- "Made in New Zealand" only means the last major stage happened there: under customs and consumer law, yarn, fabric, dyeing and, for shoes, uppers can be made elsewhere. It hasn't shown where those earlier stages happen, so where it's made counts towards On Track but not Good. Source
- 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 This listing covers the Mandatory label, an independent Wellington menswear brand founded in 1997 by Clare Bowden and Fiona Edwards, whose own suits, shirts, trousers and jackets are designed and made in small runs in its own Wellington workroom. Fabrics are bought in (some described as Australian merino or Bulgarian cotton). Its Wellington store also sells other brands, such as Gibson, Cambridge Clothing and Visconti socks, which are not covered by this rating. It does not publish staff numbers or a supplier list and holds no labour certification; it ships to Australia.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Not listed | Not in Ethical Clothing Australia's current brand directory (57 brands); ECA covers Australian-made supply chains and the brand makes in New Zealand. View |
| Fair Wear | Not listed | No Fair Wear membership is mentioned by the brand or found in searches. View |
| B Corp directory | Not listed | No B Corp certification is mentioned by the brand or found in searches. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Not listed | No labour allegations against the brand appear in searches. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 6
Show all 6 sources
- NZ Fashion Museum: Mandatory · search the archive · Founded 1997 in Wellington; everything produced in small runs in Wellington; store and workroom under one roof since 2018.
- CreativeMornings: Clare Bowden · search the archive · Co-founder Clare Bowden directs the business, buys the cloth and works on suiting patterns (2017).
Published by Mandatory or its owner
- Mandatory: About Us · search the archive · Describes itself as New Zealand-made menswear designed and produced by its crew in Wellington.
- Mandatory: product catalogue · search the archive · Own-label items say 'Designed and made in Wellington, New Zealand'; store also sells third-party brands.
- Mandatory: all products · search the archive · Cotton: major use, traced none. Own-label shirts, jeans and jackets are largely cotton; no mill, origin or certification named.
- Mandatory: Shipping & Returns · search the archive · Ships to Australia by international express courier for NZ$35, 2-6 working days.
Company details
- Headquarters
- New Zealand
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Mandatory ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/mandatory, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What On Track means
Better-graded suits and tailoring
No suits and tailoring brand selling new goods is Good yet. 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 Mandatory.