Labour Lens

Scotch & Soda

Lacks transparency

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Clothing & footwear

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 2 November 2026 · 5 sources

Amsterdam-founded casual fashion label.

There's no proof Scotch & Soda pays more than the legal minimum, which in China is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.

See better everyday fashion options

Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Scotch & Soda? Send a right of reply.

Compare Scotch & Soda with another brand

Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
  • Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries. 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.

How grades are decided

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 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
  • 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: High-risk raw materials (cotton and leather) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton

Red flags 2

  • Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
  • Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights

Stars it would earn as Good

None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Where it's made

Scotch & Soda names some of the countries it makes in: China, India and Türkiye. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
ChinaNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
IndiaNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
TürkiyeNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageVery high
BangladeshUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
VietnamUsual for the industrySystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
CambodiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
IndonesiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
PakistanUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageHigh

Evidence

What we found

  • 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.
  • Uses leather in only a few products and doesn't show where it comes from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.

Research notes Scotch & Soda has said its clothes are made by independent factories in 14 countries, mainly China, India and Turkey, but it publishes no country shares or factory list. An older supply chain page says it has been an amfori BSCI member since 2013, but it is not shown as a BSCI member because nothing newer has been published since Bluestar Alliance bought it in 2023; it now runs about 90 own stores and uses distributors elsewhere. It has not signed the International Accord, has no living wage commitment and gives no shares for certified cotton. Leather is limited to trims and accessories.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion ReportListedScotch & Soda is rated D in Baptist World Aid's Good Shopping Guide, which notes it has not signed the International Accord; its page shows no Ethical Fashion Report score. View
News reporting and NGO investigationsListedBluestar Alliance bought the brand in 2023 after its Dutch bankruptcy; the European retail business went bankrupt in 2024 and stores have since reopened under Bluestar. View

Sources and actions

Sources 5

Show all 5 sources
  1. Scotch & Soda - Good Shopping Guide (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · Rated D; owned 100% by Bluestar Alliance; failure to sign the Accord (CCC 2025); no commitment to publish supplier factory information
  2. The full story: Scotch & Soda one year after the Bluestar takeover (FashionUnited) · search the archive · US business run by Bluestar; European and French operations run by licensees; several markets closed
  3. Scotch & Soda's return to the high street (FashionUnited, January 2026) · search the archive · Owned by Bluestar Alliance; European retail bankrupt in 2024; 90 own stores; other markets via distributors and agents

Published by Scotch & Soda or its owner

  1. Sustainable and ethical supply chains - Scotch & Soda · search the archive · Production in 14 countries, mainly China, India and Turkey; amfori BSCI member since 2013; older pre-takeover page
  2. Better Materials - Scotch & Soda · search the archive · Cotton-based ranges with organic and recycled cotton options; recycled leather used in denim back patches and small accessories

Company details

Headquarters
Netherlands
Last researched
2 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Scotch & Soda ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/scotch-and-soda, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Better-graded everyday fashion

13 op shops and resale platforms, Good by ruleBuying second-hand or refurbished: SWOP Clothing Exchange and AirRobe and 11 more · See them allGoodbassikeMissing: a full independent supply chain audit, where its earlier stages happen and 2 more · Clothing & footwearOrganic cotton casual wearPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedDenimsmithMissing: where its earlier stages happen and traced raw materials · Clothing & footwearMelbourne-made jeans and denimPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedKuwaii (clothing)Missing: a full independent supply chain audit, where its earlier stages happen and 2 more · Clothing & footwearMelbourne-made womenswear and footwearPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verified

None of the everyday fashion brands we know to make jeans is Good yet. These are the strongest so far. The Social Studio, Middlemost and The Social Outfit are Good, but we don't know that they make jeans. Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.

See every everyday fashion brand

Something missing or wrong?

Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Scotch & Soda.

Send evidenceSend a right of reply