realme
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Chinese smartphone brand.
realme's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2019, and workers in India and Bangladesh are very unlikely to earn a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and untraced high-risk mined materials. 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 2019) is more than 5 years old.
- 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 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 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
- 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 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to 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 3 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 press and retailer reports; realme doesn't say where its products are made. The rest is shown as where electronics are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Bangladesh | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Pakistan | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| TaiwanUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
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 realme phones are made mainly in OPPO group factories in China and at OPPO's plants in Greater Noida, India, and the brand has reported local assembly in Lahore, Pakistan and in Bangladesh since 2021; no production shares or supplier list are published. In 2026 OPPO folded realme back in as a sub-brand, merged with OnePlus, sharing OPPO's component sourcing. Neither realme nor OPPO publishes supplier audit findings, a living wage commitment or a modern slavery statement on the Australian register, and OPPO scored 4.6/100 on the 2026 WBA Social Benchmark.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Electronics from China and cobalt from the DRC appear on the US DOL list of goods made with child or forced labour. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Not listed | No realme or OPPO statement appears on the Australian Modern Slavery Register. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Link through a supplierThe Australian Strategic Policy Institute found Uyghur workers transferred under conditions strongly suggesting forced labour at Dongguan Yidong Electronic and O-Film Technology, which name realme's parent OPPO as a customer; the report does not say which OPPO brands were affected (ASPI, 2020). Source · search the archive | Not knownNo public response from OPPO or realme to the findings 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.
- China Labor Watch reported excessive hours, illegal use of student interns, wage arrears and harassment at factories supplying realme's parent OPPO (Shop Ethical, citing China Labor Watch, 2023). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications (Shop Ethical!) · search the archive · China Labor Watch 2023 abuses at OPPO suppliers; OPPO scored 4.6/100 on the WBA Social Benchmark 2026
- China's Realme to expand India production despite Covid-19 surge (Caixin, 2021) · search the archive · All realme phones and TVs sold in India assembled in Noida factories shared with OPPO
- Realme reunites with Oppo as a sub-brand (Business Today, 2026) · search the archive · realme integrated into OPPO as a sub-brand in 2026, with joint component sourcing
- Oppo merges OnePlus and realme in major restructuring (TechNode, 2026) · search the archive · realme and OnePlus merged into an OPPO sub-brand unit; realme R&D and hardware folded into OPPO
- Uyghurs for Sale (Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2020) · search the archive · Uyghur workers at Dongguan Yidong and O-Film, which name OPPO as a customer; realme not named
- realme begins assembling smartphones in Pakistan (Business Recorder) · search the archive · realme set up a $16m smartphone assembly plant in Lahore
- realme C21 now made in Bangladesh (UNB, 2021) · search the archive · realme phones made at a factory in Bangladesh from 2021
Company details
- Headquarters
- China
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is realme ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/realme, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded phones
No phones brand selling new goods is Good yet. This is the strongest so far. 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 realme.