Ralph Lauren
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
New York company selling premium clothing and homewares.
Ralph Lauren's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2025, and workers in Vietnam and Cambodia are very unlikely to earn a living wage.
Better-graded luxury and designer
Graded higher than Ralph Lauren, selling the same kinds of things. Second-hand first.
14 op shops and resale platforms, Good by ruleBuying second-hand or refurbished: Blue Spinach and SWOP Clothing Exchange and 12 more · See them allGoodGucciMissing: where its earlier stages happen · Clothing & footwearLuxury fashion, leather goods and shoesPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedGolden GooseMissing: where its earlier stages happen, a named supplier list and traced raw materials · Clothing & footwearLuxury sneakers and ready-to-wearPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedMiu MiuMissing: a full independent supply chain audit and where its earlier stages happen · Clothing & footwearLuxury womenswear, bags and shoesPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verified
No luxury and designer brand selling new goods is Good yet. These are the strongest so far. Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
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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 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 2021) was a link through a supplier, which the company has 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.
- Checks its own supply chain. Ralph Lauren looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found forced labour in 2022 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. Another problem on its record counts against the grade: a forced labour link in 2025. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
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 rights71% of its products are made in countries such as Cambodia and India, 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
- 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
- Not met: High-risk raw materials (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton
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: 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 it's made
From Ralph Lauren's own disclosure: it publishes its supplier list. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | 29% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Cambodia | 20% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | 16% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 15% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| BangladeshUsual for the industry | 10% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | 4% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Modern slavery statement
- Doesn't show where its cotton comes from. Cotton is linked to forced labour in Xinjiang and Turkmenistan, and child labour in several growing regions, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies it.
Research notes Ralph Lauren owns no factories; about 300 suppliers make its products, the vast majority outside the US. Its fiscal 2026 annual report names Vietnam (about 21%), Cambodia (16%) and India (11%) as the largest sources. It publishes its Tier 1 factory list, uses third-party and ILO Better Work audits and has a wage management strategy with suppliers, but has no time-bound living wage target and has not signed the International Accord on factory safety.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Scored 37 out of 100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (average 31.5), after 42 in 2024. View |
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Scored 54% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, above the 26% average. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Publishes an annual UK Modern Slavery disclosure; FY2025 statement covers over 350 Tier 1 factories in about 30 countries. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Canada's Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise published an initial assessment in 2023 and opened a fact-finding investigation into alleged Uyghur forced labour links. View |
Confirmed issues 3
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link through a supplierA Transparentem investigation published in February 2025 found migrant workers at Taiwanese textile suppliers had paid recruitment fees, with forced labour indicators at some; Ralph Lauren was named as a buyer of four of them, including Far Eastern New Century (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025). Source · search the archive | Not knownNo Ralph Lauren response is recorded; by 2026 Taiwan's textile sector had repaid about half the fees owed to migrant workers. |
| 2022 | Ralph Lauren reported a 2022 case at a supplier in Japan where nine migrant workers had paid recruitment fees, a forced labour risk (Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, 2023). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | YesThe supplier agreed to repay the recruitment fees to the nine workers, as reported by the company (CHRB 2023). |
| 2021 | Link through a supplierASPI's 2020 'Uyghurs for Sale' report named Youngor and Jiangsu Guotai Guosheng, factories using transferred Uyghur workers, in Ralph Lauren's supply chain; shipments from Xinjiang-linked Esquel continued to 2021 (Canadian Ombudsperson, 2023). Source · search the archiveActed on The company has acted on this link, so it no longer counts against the grade. | YesRalph Lauren says it stopped ordering from Esquel in December 2020, with the last shipment in August 2021. No remedy for affected workers has been reported. |
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.
- A 2020 BBC investigation reported that women at an Indian factory supplying Ralph Lauren were made to work through the night without notice, threatened with layoffs and verbally abused; Ralph Lauren said it would investigate (ThePrint, 2020). Source
- Canada's Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise opened a fact-finding investigation in 2023 into alleged links between Ralph Lauren Canada and Uyghur forced labour at Youngor and Jiangsu Guotai Guosheng; Ralph Lauren objected on jurisdiction. The complaint was withdrawn in June 2024 after mediation, and the final report came out in November 2024 (AboveGround). Source
- The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reported in 2024 that Luenthai Philippines, a factory linked to Ralph Lauren and other brands, laid off about 2,000 workers, around 60% of its workforce (FashionUnited, 2024). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Ralph Lauren Corporation CHRB scorecard 2023 (World Benchmarking Alliance) · search the archive · Wage management strategy, no living wage target; published factory list; 2022 Japan recruitment fee case repaid (2023 edition; latest is 2026)
- Ralph Lauren - Good Shopping Guide (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · 2026 Ethical Fashion Report: Ralph Lauren scored 37/100 (average 31.5); FTI 2023 54%; has not signed the Accord
- Following the Thread: Labor Abuses in Taiwan's Textile Industry (BHRRC) · search the archive · Transparentem 2025: recruitment fees and forced labour indicators at Taiwanese suppliers; Ralph Lauren named as buyer of four
- Ralph Lauren Corp Form 10-K FY2026 · search the archive · About 300 suppliers; owns no factories; Vietnam 21%, Cambodia 16%, India 11%; about 23,600 employees
- CORE Ombudsperson: Ralph Lauren Canada complaint · search the archive · ASPI named Youngor and Jiangsu Guotai Guosheng in RL supply chain; Esquel orders ended Dec 2020; investigation opened
- Workers at Indian factories supplying M&S, Ralph Lauren tell BBC (ThePrint) · search the archive · BBC 2020 report of overnight work and verbal abuse at RL supplier in India
Published by Ralph Lauren or its owner
- Ralph Lauren UK Modern Slavery Disclosure FY2025 · search the archive · Over 350 Tier 1 factories in about 30 countries; third-party and Better Work audits; factory disclosure
Company details
- Owned by
- Ralph Lauren Corporation
- Headquarters
- United States
- Employees
- About 23,600
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Ralph Lauren ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ralph-lauren, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Ralph Lauren.