Pentax
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Ricoh's Japanese camera brand.
Pentax can't show that the workers who make its products in the Philippines and Vietnam earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It doesn't name the factories its Responsible Business Alliance audits cover.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries and untraced high-risk mined materials. 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 2 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 the Philippines, 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 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
- Not met: Traces its cobalt, gold and other conflict minerals to the mine
Red flags 3
- 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
- Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't traceShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Pentax's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold mining carry child and forced labour risk (DR Congo, Indonesia), and assembly overtime is widespread.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Relies on metals such as cobalt, gold and tin from artisanal mines where miners, including children, face toxic dust, mercury exposure and deadly tunnel collapses. It hasn't shown any steps to trace these materials to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Pentax cameras are made in Ricoh's own plant in the Mactan Economic Zone, Cebu, Philippines, and its lenses in Ricoh's plant in Hanoi, Vietnam. Parent Ricoh is an RBA member, but the RBA audits it reports cover only its office equipment plants in Japan, China and Thailand, so no audit results are published for the Pentax plants. There is no supplier list or living wage commitment. Countries are listed without shares because no source gives an output split.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Parent Ricoh's Australian modern slavery statement for 2024-25 covers the group but names only office equipment plants in Japan, China and Thailand, not Pentax camera plants. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Not in the latest report; Baptist World Aid's Electronics Industry Report ended in 2016, when parent Ricoh was graded in the B band. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Unclear | No labour abuse allegations involving Pentax camera production were identified. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Pentax camera factory escapes typhoon damage (Amateur Photographer, 2013) · search the archive · Ricoh's Pentax DSLR factory is in the Mactan Economic Processing Zone, Cebu.
- Amateur Photographer: Pentax camera plant in typhoon-hit Philippines · search the archive · Ricoh-owned Pentax makes its DSLRs at a plant in the Mactan Economic Processing Zone, Lapu-Lapu, Cebu (2013)
- Pentax digital SLR cameras aim new stage (PentaxForums, 2026) · search the archive · Ricoh Imaging Vietnam recruiting about 600 lens assemblers at its Pentax plant in Vietnam.
- 2016 Electronics Industry Trends (Baptist World Aid Australia) · search the archive · Last edition (2016); Ricoh in the B band.
- Pentax K3 III - Ted's Cameras · search the archive · Sold new by Ted's Cameras, an Australian chain with click and collect in its stores.
- Pentax (Wikipedia) · search the archive · Ricoh bought Pentax in 2011; Ricoh Imaging markets Pentax
Published by Pentax or its owner
- Ricoh Australia Modern Slavery Statement 2024-25 · search the archive · RBA member; five RBA-audited plants in Japan, China and Thailand; no camera plants named.
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Pentax ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/pentax, 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?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Pentax.