Maybelline New York
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 11 sources
Mass-market make-up brand from New York, owned by France's L'Oréal.
Maybelline New York's supply chain was linked to abuse of workers in 2020, 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 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: clear breaches of labour conditions and unaudited production in high-risk countries. 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 2025) was found by its own checks and is being fixed.
- 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.
- Checks its own supply chain. Maybelline New York looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found forced labour in 2025 and is fixing them, so they don't count against the grade. Another problem on its record counts against the grade: a abuse of workers link in 2020. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: working towards one (proven for only part of its supply chain)
- Not met: Respects worker rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: abuse of workers link, last recorded in 2020
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings it isn't fixingIts own checks found forced labour, which it is fixing. That's listed below and doesn't count against the grade. An unconfirmed report of forced labour is listed below. It doesn'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
- Not met: Uses only synthetic mica or none, or traces natural mica to independently checked mines, and traces or certifies other high-risk ingredients (palm oil and carnauba wax, jasmine and vanilla) where they're a major part of its range
Red flags 2
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Maybelline New York says it makes products in the United States. Its parent group's figures name France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Israel, India, China, Indonesia and Japan. Press and retailer reports name Poland. The rest is shown as where beauty and personal care products are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| France | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Italy | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Germany | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Spain | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Poland | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
| Belgium | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| Israel | Systematic violations | Not rated | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| United KingdomUsual for the industry | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: mica is dug partly by children in India and Madagascar, and the palm-oil ingredients in soaps, shampoos and creams come from plantations on the US list for forced and child labour. Carnauba wax, jasmine and vanilla add slave-like work and child labour on farms.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- Modern slavery statement
- Proves a living wage for part of its supply chain only
- It's a member of the Responsible Mica Initiative, or uses natural mica in only a few products, but doesn't trace its mica to mines that are checked independently. The initiative audits processors, but most Indian mines aren't traced and children still work in them. Source
- Uses carnauba wax, jasmine and vanilla in only a few products and doesn't show where they come from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.
- Traces or certifies most but not all of its palm oil. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes Maybelline is made in L'Oréal's own plants and by contract makers: L'Oréal names its North Little Rock plant in Arkansas, its largest make-up factory, for Maybelline mascara and lipstick, and L'Oréal Australia lists 12 factory countries, including China, India and Indonesia, without a split by brand. Its make-up uses natural mica; L'Oréal is a founding member of the Responsible Mica Initiative and says 99% of its Indian mica comes from suppliers committed to verified sources, but names no mines, and buys palm derivatives through RSPO Mass Balance with 96% traced to the mill. L'Oréal pays its own staff a living wage (Fair Wage Network, 2023) and ran 1,499 supplier social audits in 2025, but publishes no supplier list and only asks strategic suppliers to pledge a living wage by 2030.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | L'Oréal Australia Pty Ltd lodges modern slavery statements; its 2024 statement says it buys from 23 L'Oréal factories, 3 L'Oréal buying agencies and selected contract manufacturers, and received no reports of modern slavery in Australia in 2024. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | L'Oréal UK and Ireland lodges modern slavery statements on the UK registry; its 2025 statement was uploaded in June 2026. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Listed among beauty groups linked to palm oil from Indonesian and Malaysian plantations where an Associated Press investigation found abuse of women workers (2020); L'Oréal responded. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list includes mica from India and Madagascar (child labour), and palm fruit and the oleochemicals made from it from Indonesia and Malaysia (child and forced labour); L'Oréal says its mica comes mainly from the USA and India. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Neither L'Oréal nor any named supplier is on the UFLPA Entity List (October 2026 edition). View |
Confirmed issues 3
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link through a supplierL'Oréal's own audit in March 2025 found that Bangladeshi workers at a supplier in Malaysia had paid excessive recruitment fees to get their jobs (L'Oréal 2025 Universal Registration Document). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | PartlyThe supplier agreed to repay the fees over 12 months, adopted a zero recruitment fees policy and brought hiring in-house; a follow-up audit found repayments had begun. |
| 2025 | Link through a supplierL'Oréal's own audit in April 2025 found that temporary staff at a supplier in Brazil were forced to work unpaid overtime under threat of dismissal (L'Oréal 2025 Universal Registration Document). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | YesThe supplier paid back wages, hired some of the temporary workers, trained managers with the Fair Labor Association and added timesheet checks; a follow-up audit confirmed it. |
| 2020 | Link through a supplierAn Associated Press investigation (2020) found physical and sexual abuse of women workers and exposure to harmful chemicals on palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, and linked palm oil from them to the supply chains of L'Oréal and other beauty groups (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2020). Source · search the archive | PartlyL'Oréal responded to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre; it buys palm derivatives through RSPO Mass Balance and traces 96% to the mill, but reports no remedy for the workers. |
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.
- A BBC investigation (2024) reported that Brazil rescued 114 carnauba wax workers from slave-like conditions in 2023 and that producers caught using such labour said they sold to Brasil Ceras, a processor that counts L'Oréal as a client; no paper trail links the raided operations to Brasil Ceras, and L'Oréal says it audits its suppliers (RNZ, 2024). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 11
Show all 11 sources
- Assessment: L'Oréal's coconut supply chain in the Philippines (Fair Labor Association, 2026) · search the archive · L'Oréal joined the Fair Labor Association in 2024 and is pursuing accreditation for its Philippine coconut supply chain only
- AP investigation reveals women face dangerous working conditions, widespread abuse & rape in palm oil supply chains of global cosmetics brands (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · AP found physical and sexual abuse of women workers and harmful chemicals on Indonesian and Malaysian palm plantations whose palm oil allegedly reaches L'Oréal and other beauty groups; L'Oréal responded
- L'Oréal Australia Pty Ltd Modern Slavery Statement 2024 (Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · Products sourced from 23 L'Oréal factories, 3 L'Oréal buying agencies and selected contracted manufacturers; factory map lists France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Israel, India, China, Indonesia, Spain, the United States and Japan
- The Brazilian farm workers exploited to harvest an everyday ingredient (RNZ/BBC, 2024) · search the archive · 114 carnauba workers rescued from slave-like conditions in Brazil in 2023; L'Oréal is a client of the processor Brasil Ceras; no paper trail from raided producers to Brasil Ceras; L'Oréal says it audits suppliers
- Exploring the Magic of how Maybelline is Made (L'Oréal) · search the archive · North Little Rock, Arkansas is L'Oréal's largest make-up manufacturing plant and makes Maybelline Sky High mascara and Vinyl Ink lipstick
- L'Oréal Warsaw Plant produkuje kosmetyki od 25 lat (Wiadomości Kosmetyczne, 2022) · search the archive · L'Oréal's plant at Kanie, Poland makes about 360 million products a year for Garnier, L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline and other brands; 92% of output goes to European markets
- L'Oréal 2025 Universal Registration Document: operations · search the archive · 37 plants worldwide: 19 in Europe (11 in France), 5 in North America, 4 in Latin America, 4 in SAPMENA, 3 in North Asia, 2 in Sub-Saharan Africa
- What is mica? (La Roche-Posay, a L'Oréal brand) · search the archive · L'Oréal says 99% of its mica comes from verified sources, mainly from the USA and India, uses synthetic mica when technically possible and is a founding member of the Responsible Mica Initiative; no mine-level tracing described
- L'Oréal 2023 Universal Registration Document: palm oil · search the archive · 92,186 tonnes of palm and palm-kernel derivatives in 2023, 100% RSPO certified, 99.8% through the Mass Balance model by end-2023; 96% of main derivatives traced to the mill (2022: 98.3% to refineries, 96% to mills, 66% to plantations)
- L'Oréal 2025 Universal Registration Document: suppliers and human rights · search the archive · 1,499 supplier social audits in 2025; own audits found recruitment fees paid by Bangladeshi workers at a Malaysian supplier (March 2025, repayment begun) and forced unpaid overtime of temporary staff at a Brazilian supplier (April 2025, back wages paid, follow-up audit confirmed)
- L'Oréal Is Committed To Achieving Living Wages For All (L'Oréal) · search the archive · All L'Oréal employees paid a living wage since 2020, accredited as a Living Wage Employer by Fair Wage Network in 2023; aim for 100% of strategic suppliers to sign a living wage pledge with a time-bound action plan by 2030
Company details
- Owned by
- L'Oréal
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Maybelline New York ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/maybelline, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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