Labour Lens

Mundial

Lacks transparency

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Homewares, furniture & appliances

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources

Brazilian brand of professional kitchen knives.

There's no proof Mundial pays more than the legal minimum, which in Brazil is below a living wage.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
  • Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
  • 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.

How grades are decided

Good requirements 3 of 6

  • Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
  • Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in Brazil, China and Vietnam.
  • 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 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
  • Met: High-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNone recorded in a major share of its range

Red flags 1

  • Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage

Stars it would earn as Good

None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Where it's made

From Mundial's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where homewares and appliances are usually made.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
BrazilSystematic violationsBelow a living wageModerate
ChinaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
VietnamUsual for the industrySystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
IndiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
PolandUsual for the industryRegular violationsClose to a living wageModerate
IndonesiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
MalaysiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate

Evidence

What we found

  • No high-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) are recorded in a major share of its range, so the raw-material check doesn't hold it back for Good.
  • Owns or runs its own production

Research notes Mundial knives are made at Mundial S.A.'s own factory in Gravataí, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The company's code of conduct bans forced and child labour, and its social reports (latest found for 2018) cover staff numbers and safety spending, but it publishes no supplier list, steel sourcing details, audit results or wage figures. No labour abuse reports involving the brand were found.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion ReportNot coveredBaptist World Aid's reports cover fashion and electronics, not knife makers. View

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Mundial skinning knife (OzFarmer) · search the archive · Australian retailer selling Mundial knives in AUD; brand manufactured in Brazil
  2. Mundial (Nisbets Australia) · search the archive · Australian catering supplier with stores stocks 15 Mundial knives and sets

Published by Mundial or its owner

  1. Mundial units (Mundial S.A.) · search the archive · Gravataí/RS unit develops and produces Mundial and Hercules items including knives and sharpeners
  2. Mundial S.A. home page · search the archive · 100% Brazilian company with 3 manufacturing units; Food Service knives under Mundial and Hercules
  3. Balanço Socioambiental 2018 (Mundial S.A.) · search the archive · Factories in Caxias do Sul, Gravataí and Guarulhos; 2,193 staff at end of 2018; no labour penalties reported
  4. Balanço Socioambiental 2015 (Mundial S.A.) · search the archive · Code of conduct bans forced and child labour

Company details

Headquarters
Brazil
Last researched
3 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Mundial ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/mundial, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

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Something missing or wrong?

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