Labour Lens

Sambonet

On Track

On Track. Pays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.

Homewares, furniture & appliances

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 2 November 2026 · 4 sources

Italian maker of stainless and silver-plated cutlery.

Sambonet makes its stainless steel cutlery in its own factories in Italy, where labour laws are strong and legal wages are close to a living wage.

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Why it's graded On Track

How grades are decided

Good requirements 6 of 7

  • Met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: presumed because legal wages in Italy are close to a living wage, not checked at the company
  • Met: Respects worker rights
  • Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standardsPresumed from where it's made, not audited
  • Not met: Shows where its earlier production stages happen, not just the final oneA "Made in" claim can cover only the final stage. Earlier stages to show: materials and parts such as fabric, timber, glass, metal and ceramics
  • 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
  • Met: High-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNone recorded in a major share of its range

Red flags 0

None found.

Stars it would earn as Good:
StarAwarded for
Open supply chain

Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Where it's made

From Sambonet's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
ItalyStrong protectionsClose to a living wageLow

Evidence

What we found

  • No high-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) are recorded in a major share of its range, so the raw-material check doesn't hold it back for Good.
  • Owns or runs its own production
  • "Made in Italy" only means the last major stage happened there: under customs and consumer law, materials and parts such as fabric, timber, glass, metal and ceramics can be made elsewhere. It hasn't shown where those earlier stages happen, so where it's made counts towards On Track but not Good. Source

Research notes Sambonet cutlery and Paderno kitchen tools are made at the company's own plant in Orfengo, Italy, which had 282 employees at the end of 2024; some finishing and heat treatment is outsourced to nearby Italian contractors. About 76% of suppliers are Italian, with others mainly in Germany, France, Hungary, Turkey, India and the US. Suppliers sign a code of conduct and fill in questionnaires, but no supplier audits or audit results are published. No labour abuse reports involving the brand were found.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion ReportNot coveredBaptist World Aid's reports cover fashion and electronics, not cutlery makers. View

Sources and actions

Sources 4

Show all 4 sources
  1. Visita aziendale presso Sambonet Paderno Industrie (Università del Piemonte Orientale, 2025) · search the archive · Orfengo site, opened 2001, combines offices and the plant making Sambonet cutlery and Paderno tools
  2. Twist 58 piece cutlery set - ArchiPro Australia · search the archive · Sambonet cutlery listed for sale on ArchiPro's Australian site by a New Zealand retailer; designed and made in Italy

Published by Sambonet or its owner

  1. Arcturus Group Bilancio di Sostenibilità 2024 · search the archive · 282 employees at Sambonet Paderno Industrie; local subcontracted finishing; 76% of suppliers in Italy; supplier code of conduct since 2015
  2. Sambonet history · search the archive · Part of the Paderno group since 1997; Arcturus group also owns Rosenthal, Arzberg, Ercuis and Raynaud

Company details

Headquarters
Italy
Employees
About 282
Last researched
2 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Sambonet ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/sambonet, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What On Track means

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