Muji
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 8 sources
Japanese retailer selling plain clothing and homewares.
In 2025, a Cambodian shoe supplier had a union leader jailed on baseless charges and kept them sidelined for a year.
Also worth knowing
Muji has only partly put this right.
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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 has only partly put right: union rights breach, last recorded in 2025.
- Checks its own supply chain. Muji looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found forced and child labour in 2025 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. Other problems on its record count against the grade: a forced labour link in 2021 and a union rights breach in 2025. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
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: union rights breach, last recorded in 2025
- 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 and leather) 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 wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- 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
Japan and China have the largest shares, 31% each. Vietnam is next, at 16%.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 31% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| China | 31% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | 16% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Cambodia | 7% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Thailand | 4% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Bangladesh | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Malaysia | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Modern slavery statement
- Independent social audits of all its main factories
- Reports child labour cases found and fixed
- 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.
- Uses leather in only a few products and doesn't show where it comes from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes Muji publishes a list of its main factories and textile mills. The March 2026 list names 153 factories making clothing, home textiles, housewares and storage: 48 in Japan, 47 in China, 25 in Vietnam and the rest in Cambodia, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia; clothing alone is mostly made in Vietnam, Cambodia and China. It uses third-party audits and the ILO Better Work programme, has a 2030 goal for fully responsible cotton and certified wood, but has made no living wage commitment. It openly kept using Xinjiang cotton in 2021.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Ryohin Keikaku publishes a group modern slavery statement under the UK and Canadian laws; FY2025 statement reports 320 factories audited and one child labour case remediated in Cambodia. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Muji's profile records stories on a Cambodian union case, Myanmar factory abuses and Xinjiang cotton, with 3 response requests and a 67% response rate. 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 | The Worker Rights Consortium found that a union leader at Wing Star Shoes in Cambodia, a Muji and ASICS supplier, was jailed on baseless charges in 2024 and then sidelined at work for a year (WRC via BHRRC, 2025). Source · search the archive | PartlyThe union leader was reinstated and paid about US$53,000 in 2025 after ASICS pressed the factory; the WRC says Muji declined to require the remedy. |
| 2025 | Ryohin Keikaku reported finding a case of child labour at a supplier factory in Cambodia in its 2025 modern slavery statement (Ryohin Keikaku, 2025). Source · archived copyFound 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 factory agreed to pay for the child's education and the wages they would have earned until reaching legal working age. |
| 2021 | Link through a supplierMuji confirmed in 2021 that it uses cotton from Xinjiang, where governments and researchers have documented state-imposed forced labour of Uyghurs, and promoted Xinjiang cotton products (Wall Street Journal via BHRRC, 2021). | NoMuji said its own 2020 audit of Xinjiang farms found no material human rights violations and kept using and advertising Xinjiang cotton. |
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.
- Myanmar Labour News reported in 2023 that workers at an unnamed factory of more than 2,000 people making Muji clothes were denied sick leave and legal benefits, had pay docked for minor matters and faced verbal abuse (BHRRC, 2023). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 8
Show all 8 sources
- Japan's Muji appeals to China by advertising use of Xinjiang cotton (BHRRC / WSJ) · search the archive · May 2021: Muji uses and advertises Xinjiang cotton; says 2020 audit found no material violations
- Cambodia: Union leader falsely imprisoned at ASICS and MUJI supplier wins reinstatement (BHRRC) · search the archive · WRC 2025: Wing Star Shoes union leader jailed 2024; US$53,000 remedy via ASICS; Muji declined to require remedy
- Myanmar workers allegedly making clothes for Muji face abuses (BHRRC) · search the archive · March 2023 Myanmar Labour News report of abuses at a factory making Muji clothes
- Muji company profile (BHRRC) · search the archive · 3 response requests, 67% response rate
- Landmark redress for falsely imprisoned worker leader (Worker Rights Consortium, 2025) · search the archive · Wing Star Shoes union leader reinstated with about US$53,000 in compensation and back pay in November 2025 after ASICS engaged; Muji declined to require remedy
Published by Muji or its owner
- Ryohin Keikaku Supplier List, March 2026 · search the archive · 473 Tier 1 factories; 45 apparel (VN 12, KH 9, CN 9, TH 5, ID 4, BD 3, JP 2, IN 1); home goods factories mostly in Japan and China
- Ryohin Keikaku Group Modern Slavery Statement FY2025 · archived copy · 320 factories audited by third parties and Better Work; one child labour case remediated in Cambodia; 28,432 employees
- Raw Material Procurement (Ryohin Keikaku) · search the archive · Cotton is 64.7% of apparel fibre; leather used in some goods; wood used for furniture with a 2030 certified-timber goal; no current FSC share
Company details
- Owned by
- Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Employees
- About 28,432
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Muji ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/muji, 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
JoyyaClothing & footwearFair trade organic tees and bagsIts own factories in India hold WFTO Guaranteed Fair Trade.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Gives workers a real voice; Open supply chain; Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities5 starsCitizen WolfClothing & footwearMade-to-measure tees and polosIts own factories in Australia hold Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Open supply chain3 starsPaisley's PatternsClothing & footwearKids, family and maternity clothingIts own factories in Australia hold Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation.GoodVerified
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Muji.