Saint Laurent
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Paris luxury house selling ready-to-wear and handbags.
Saint Laurent publishes no supplier list or independent audits, which Italian fashion needs before we presume a living wage, because Milan prosecutors have found luxury brands' subcontractors exploiting migrant workers.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
- 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
- Met: Respects worker rights
- 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
- Met: High-risk raw materials (cotton, leather, natural rubber, silk and cashmere) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeTraced or certified: cotton and leather. Only in a few products: natural rubber, silk and cashmere
Red flags 1
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Saint Laurent's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
Dresses & skirts, Jackets & coats, Suits, Shirts, Pants & trousers, Knitwear, Jeans, T-shirts, Boots, Shoes, Sandals & thongs, Sneakers, Bags & backpacks: Lacks transparency, the same as Saint Laurent overall, because nothing we know differs between them.
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where it's made
Kering's figures name France. Press and retailer reports name Italy.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| Italy | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for clothes and shoes: traces or certifies its cotton and leather.
- Modern slavery statement
- Being made in Italy doesn't count towards a living wage or audit here: Italian fashion and leather goods, where Milan prosecutors have found luxury brands' subcontractors exploiting migrant workers. It would need to publish its suppliers or have them independently audited.
- Uses natural rubber, silk and cashmere in only a few products. It doesn't show where its natural rubber and silk come from and traces or certifies most of its cashmere. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.
- 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.
- Traces or certifies most but not all of its leather. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes Saint Laurent's leather goods are made in Tuscany, Italy: its Scandicci workshop makes about 5% and outside partners the other 95%; shoes are made in Veneto. Kering's suppliers are mainly in Italy and France; no country split or Saint Laurent supplier list is published. Kering audited about 70% of its 4,470 suppliers in 2024 but has no public living wage target, and audits check legal minimum wages. Kering scored 44/100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report; Saint Laurent scored 51% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Scored 51% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, well above the 26% average. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Covered by Kering's group modern slavery statements; the 2024 statement reports 4,470 suppliers, mainly in Italy and France, about 70% audited. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Yves Saint Laurent UK Ltd is a reporting entity under Kering's UK modern slavery statement. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | Named in December 2025 among 13 luxury brands asked by Milan prosecutors for records in an inquiry into exploitation of migrant workers at Italian subcontractors. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Owner Kering scored 44/100 in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (average 31.5); Saint Laurent is not scored separately. View |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Listed | Kering scored 52.1% in the World Benchmarking Alliance's 2026 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. 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.
- In December 2025 Milan prosecutors asked Yves Saint Laurent and 12 other luxury brands for supply chain records after police found 11 workers in severe exploitation at Bag Group srl, a Chinese-run workshop, in November 2025; the brand was not formally under investigation (Il Fatto Quotidiano; AFP via FashionUnited, 2025). Source
- In November 2025 police inspections of Tuscan workshops that also supplied Tod's found up to seven levels of subcontracting and seized bags bearing the Saint Laurent brand (Il Sole 24 Ore, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Kering - Shop Ethical! (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · Kering 44/100 in 2026 Ethical Fashion Report; 52.1% in WBA Human Rights Benchmark 2026; KnowTheChain 2023 23/100; Tailored Wages 2019
- Kering SA 2024 Modern Slavery Statement (Australian register) · search the archive · 4,470 suppliers mainly in Italy and France; about 70% audited in 2024; no living wage target
- Saint Laurent opens large leather goods workshop in Tuscany (FashionNetwork) · search the archive · Leather: major use. Scandicci workshop (2023) makes about 5% of leather goods; 95% by outside contractors mainly in Tuscany
- Kering prioritises hides from traceable origins (Leatherbiz) · search the archive · Leather: traced most. Kering requires hide suppliers to name tanneries, slaughterhouses and farm country
- Caporalato: 13 brand investigations (Il Sole 24 Ore) · search the archive · Nov 2025 Tuscan inspections found up to seven subcontracting levels and seized Saint Laurent bags; YSL not formally investigated
- Kering's materials focus pays off (Trellis) · search the archive · Cotton: major, traced most; cashmere: minor, traced most (Kering traces at least 98% to country of origin). Silk, rubber: minor, untraced
- Caporalato moda: Procura di Milano (Il Fatto Quotidiano) · search the archive · 11 workers in heavy exploitation found at Bag Group srl on 20 Nov 2025, linked to YSL; document request to YSL
Company details
- Owned by
- Kering SA
- Headquarters
- France
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Saint Laurent ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/saint-laurent, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded bags and accessories
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 Saint Laurent.