Sigma
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources
Family-owned Japanese maker of camera lenses.
Until Sigma traces its cobalt, gold and tin to the mine, it can't show that the miners who dig them are safe or fairly paid.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It relies on high-risk mined materials it can't trace. That alone means a poor grade until it takes steps to trace them.
- 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
- 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
- Not met: Traces its cobalt, gold and other conflict minerals to the mine
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't trace
- 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 Sigma's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Strong protections | 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.
- Owns or runs its own production
- 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 Sigma makes all of its products at its own factory in Aizu, Fukushima, Japan, and does most steps in-house, from grinding glass and moulding plastics to making circuit boards, screws and moulds; only a few processes are outsourced. Its sustainability policy commits to human rights due diligence and supplier surveys, but it publishes no supplier list, audit results, conflict minerals report or modern slavery statement, and makes no living wage commitment. It is not an RBA member and was not rated in Baptist World Aid's 2016 Electronics Industry Report, the last edition.
Sources and actions
Sources 6
Show all 6 sources
- Made in Japan: How (and Why) Sigma Does Things Differently (PetaPixel, 2025) · search the archive · Sigma has not moved production abroad; makes its own circuit boards, metal parts, moulds and glass elements in Aizu
- Sigma lenses at Ted's Cameras · search the archive · Sigma lenses sold with pickup at Ted's Cameras stores across Australia
Published by Sigma or its owner
- Sigma: Made in Japan (Sigma Imaging Finland) · search the archive · Aizu, Japan is Sigma's sole production base; nearly all processes done in-house there
- Sigma Sustainability · search the archive · Policy commits to human rights due diligence and regular supplier surveys; no audit results or conflict minerals disclosure
- SIGMA: history · search the archive · Aizu factory built in Bandai, Fukushima in 1973; head office moved to Kawasaki in 2022
- SIGMA: company overview · search the archive · Privately held; 1,827 employees; head office Kawasaki; Aizu Factory in Fukushima
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Employees
- About 1,827
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Sigma ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/sigma, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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