Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Danish women's fashion brand best known for jeans.
ONLY can't show that the workers who make its products in Bangladesh and India earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent ONLY? Send a right of reply.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- 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.
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 rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as China and Bangladesh, 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
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksUnconfirmed reports of forced and child labour are listed below. They don't affect the grade.
- 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
- Met: High-risk raw materials (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeTraced or certified: cotton
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly 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
From its parent group's supplier list, which covers ONLY and its sister brands. ONLY publishes no breakdown of its own, so these are group-wide shares. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 41% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Bangladesh | 21% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | 16% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Myanmar | Not given | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Very high |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | 5% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| CambodiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for clothes and shoes: traces or certifies its cotton.
- Publishes supplier list
- Signed the International Accord on garment factory safety Source
- Modern slavery statement
- Traces or certifies most but not all of its cotton. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes ONLY is made by independent suppliers working for its owner Bestseller, which publishes its factory list; of Bestseller's 840 suppliers, about 35% of production is in China, 16% in Bangladesh and 15% in India, and 24 suppliers (2.8%) are in Myanmar, with other countries making up the rest. Bestseller has signed the International Accord and the Pakistan Accord and is a full Ethical Trading Initiative member, but ACT rates its living wage work as committed but not planning and there is no public evidence suppliers pay a living wage. All its cotton is certified or branded, with Better Cotton as the minimum. It kept sourcing in Myanmar after the 2021 coup.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Bestseller, owner of ONLY, is rated F in Baptist World Aid's Good Shopping Guide; its ethical.org.au page shows no Ethical Fashion Report score, including for the 2026 edition. View |
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Bestseller scored 41% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, the latest full index. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Bestseller profile records response requests on Myanmar, Bangladesh and Türkiye supplier cases, including the Huabo Times and Tianjin Fashion Milestone factories making ONLY clothes. View |
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 2022 that workers at the Huabo Times factory, which makes clothes for ONLY, Vero Moda and Zara, faced unpaid overtime, raised targets and verbal abuse, and were coached to tell brands there were no violations (via Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2022). Source
- Workers at Tianjin Fashion Milestone in Myanmar, which makes clothes for Vero Moda and ONLY, alleged in 2024 full-body searches, verbal abuse over targets, a month without a day off even when sick, and dismissal of workers who complained; Bestseller responded in January 2025 (BHRRC, 2025). Source
- A 2025 TV 2 Denmark documentary alleged poor conditions, low wages and child labour at Bangladeshi factories linked to Bestseller, owner of ONLY; Bestseller called the report incorrect and said it had not used the featured factories for at least 20 years (FashionUnited, 2025). Source
- A 2020 Australian Strategic Policy Institute report linked sister label Jack & Jones to Esquel, a Chinese shirt maker it said used Uyghur workers transferred under government programmes; Bestseller said Esquel denied forced labour and it would not leave Xinjiang (FashionNetwork, 2020). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Bestseller - Good Shopping Guide (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · F rating; no Ethical Fashion Report score; FTI 2023 41%; International and Pakistan Accord; ETI full member; ACT grade E
- Myanmar workers at ONLY, Vero Moda, Zara supplier pressured to deny violations (BHRRC) · search the archive · 2022 report on Huabo Times factory: unpaid overtime, abuse, coached answers to brands
- Quién produce aún en Myanmar (Modaes, April 2025) · search the archive · Bestseller data: 840 suppliers; China 35.1%, Bangladesh 16%, India 14.8% of production; 24 suppliers (2.8%) in Myanmar
- Bestseller public factory list · search the archive · Publishes tier 1 factory and tier 2 materials supplier lists; about 750 manufacturing partners
- Bestseller cotton · search the archive · 100% of cotton from certified and branded sources; Better Cotton minimum; 30% organic in 2025
- Women's ONLY (THE ICONIC) · search the archive · ONLY sold online in Australia through THE ICONIC (also ASOS Australia)
Published by ONLY or its owner
- Bestseller A/S 2025 Modern Slavery Statement · search the archive · Bestseller publishes a modern slavery statement (FY2024-25)
Company details
- Headquarters
- Denmark
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is ONLY ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/only, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded basics
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 ONLY.