PocketBook
Lacks transparency. Shows little about where or how its products are made.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 5 sources
Swiss-based company selling e-readers.
We couldn't find where PocketBook makes most of its e-readers and e-ink tablets, a certification covering its range or a list of its suppliers.
Also worth knowing
Most electronics are made in countries such as China and Vietnam, where pay is usually below a living wage.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent PocketBook? Send a right of reply.
Compare PocketBook with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production, probably 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 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsWhere electronics are usually made, such as China and Malaysia, 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
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- 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: Probably 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
We couldn't confirm where PocketBook makes most of its products, so this shows where electronics are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 55% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | 15% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Taiwan | 10% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Malaysia | 8% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South Korea | 7% | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| India | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
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.
- 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 PocketBook designs its devices in-house (with offices in Dresden, Kyiv and Shenzhen) and has them assembled by contract manufacturers; Foxconn, Wisky and Yitoa have been named, and a 2021 trade report named Jezetek, a subsidiary of a Hong Kong electronics group. It does not say where its devices are made, though its Shenzhen office handles quality assurance and one source places production at Foxconn in Taiwan. No supplier list, supplier code of conduct, audit results, modern slavery statement or living wage commitment was found, and no labour abuse findings were found for the brand.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Not listed | No statement from PocketBook International is on the Australian Modern Slavery Register; the only match is an unrelated Zip Co entity. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- Australian Modern Slavery Register search: PocketBook · search the archive · Only match is an unrelated Zip Co budgeting-app entity; no statement from PocketBook International
- PocketBook (MobileRead Wiki) · search the archive · Says production is based at Foxconn in Taiwan; early models made by Netronix
- Good e-Reader: who makes e-readers (2021) · search the archive · PocketBook designs in-house and outsources manufacturing to Jezetek, a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based electronics firm
- PocketBook International (Wikipedia) · search the archive · Founded in Kyiv in 2007; headquarters moved to Lugano in 2012; privately held; sells in Australia
Published by PocketBook or its owner
- About PocketBook (company presentation) · search the archive · HQ in Lugano; offices in Dresden, Kyiv and Shenzhen (QA); up to 200 employees and contract workers; sold in over 50 countries
Company details
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Employees
- About 200
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is PocketBook ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/pocketbook, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded laptops and computers
Nothing new in laptops and computers that we've rated is better than Lacks transparency yet. 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 PocketBook.