OldTown White Coffee
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 30 October 2026 · 8 sources
Malaysian instant white coffee brand owned by JDE Peet's.
OldTown White Coffee's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2018, which it has only partly acted on, and workers in Vietnam and Honduras are very unlikely to earn a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries and forced or child labour. 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 2018) was a link through a supplier, which the company has only partly acted on.
- 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.
Good requirements 0 of 5
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its coffee is grown in countries such as Honduras and Colombia, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not 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
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- 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 its coffee is grown
These are JDE Peet's coffee origins across all its brands; OldTown White Coffee doesn't say where its own coffee is grown. The rest is shown as where coffee is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Honduras | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| ColombiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| EthiopiaUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| PeruUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| UgandaUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| GuatemalaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: coffee is on the US Department of Labor child or forced labour list for over a dozen countries, and farm-gate prices often fall below a living income.
- Modern slavery statement
Research notes OldTown 3-in-1 mixes sold in Australia are labelled Made in Malaysia and blend Arabica, Robusta and Liberica coffee, but neither OldTown nor JDE Peet's says where its beans are grown. JDE buys from origins across Central and South America, Asia and Africa and names Brazil, Vietnam and Honduras for its farm programmes; it says 88.8% of its green coffee met its own responsible sourcing definition in 2025, a JDE-run scheme rather than an independent label. No farm list, certification or wage evidence is published for OldTown.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU lodges modern slavery statements (2022 statement seen); OldTown is not among the brands it names. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Records JDE's January 2024 response to the Bitter Brew report on slave labour in Brazil's coffee supply chain. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | SOMO and Conectas (2024) link JDE through the Cooxupé cooperative to farms where 87 workers were rescued in 2018. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | JDE Peet's is not among the companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
Confirmed issues 1
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Link through a supplierLabour inspectors rescued 87 workers in 2018 from farms supplying Brazil's Cooxupé cooperative; the 2024 SOMO and Conectas report 'Bitter Brew' says JDE is directly linked to these farms through Cooxupé. Source · archived copy | PartlyJDE says it accepted the OECD good offices process in 2022 and began human rights due diligence in 2023; SOMO and Conectas say it did not engage in good faith. |
Sources and actions
Sources 8
Show all 8 sources
- Bitter Brew: modern slavery in the coffee industry (SOMO and Conectas, 2024) · archived copy · JDE directly linked via Cooxupé to farms where 87 workers were rescued in 2018; OECD complaint filed 2018
- JDE response to the report Bitter Brew (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · JDE says it owns and buys from no farms directly, accepted the good offices procedure in 2022 and launched HRDD in 2023
- 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · JDE Peet's is not among the benchmarked companies
- Modern Slavery Statement 2022 (Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU) · search the archive · Green coffee from Central and South America, Asia and Africa; programmes in Honduras, Vietnam and Brazil; mixes imported from global facilities
- OldTown White Coffee brand history (Vulcan Post) · search the archive · Jacobs Douwe Egberts Holdings Asia bought OldTown for about RM1.47 billion in 2017 and took it private
- Old Town 3 In 1 Instant White Coffee Classic 525g (Woolworths) · search the archive · Sold at Woolworths Australia; labelled Made in Malaysia; blend of Arabica, Robusta and Liberica
Published by OldTown White Coffee or its owner
- OldTown White Coffee (official site) · search the archive · Brand site operated by Jacobs Douwe Egberts entities in Malaysia; 3-bean Arabica, Robusta and Liberica recipe, no growing countries named
- Responsible sourcing (JDE Peet's) · search the archive · 88.8% of green coffee met JDE's responsible sourcing definition in 2025, which does not mean risks are absent; no supplier list
Company details
- Headquarters
- Malaysia
- Last researched
- 30 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is OldTown White Coffee ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/oldtown-white-coffee, last researched 30 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded beans and roasters
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent OldTown White Coffee.