Labour Lens

Status Anxiety

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 3 November 2026 · 5 sources

Sydney brand of minimalist leather bags and wallets.

There's no proof Status Anxiety pays more than the legal minimum, which in China is below a living wage.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 2 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.

How grades are decided

Good requirements 2 of 6

  • Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
  • Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in China.
  • 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: leather

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

Accreditations 1

Where it's made

Status Anxiety says which countries it makes its products in, but doesn't name the factories.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
ChinaNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate

Evidence

What we found

  • Independent social audits of all its main factories
  • Doesn't show where its leather comes from. Leather is linked to hazardous tannery work and forced labour on some cattle ranches, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies it.
  • Uses cotton 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 Status Anxiety says its products are made by long-term, small family-run suppliers in China, which it visits each year, and that suppliers are audited annually by outside firms under SMETA, BSCI and QMIA frameworks. It does not name its factories or publish audit results, and gives no living wage commitment. It says it favours tanneries following Leather Working Group practices but gives no certified share; a 2022 magazine article says its leather is mainly Italian and Brazilian. It is not listed in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion ReportNot listedNot listed in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report (11th edition); the brand and its owner have no score. View

Sources and actions

Sources 5

Show all 5 sources
  1. Status Anxiety opens first New York store (SmartCompany, 2024) · search the archive · Founded 2004 by Will Sked and Scott Hawkes; five Australian stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Byron Bay
  2. Where are Status Anxiety bags made? (Bob Cut Magazine, 2022) · search the archive · Made by family-run manufacturers in China; leather said to be mainly Italian and Brazilian

Published by Status Anxiety or its owner

  1. Status Anxiety brand story · search the archive · Founded Sydney 2004; made by long-term family-run suppliers in China visited each year; donations to International Justice Mission
  2. Sustainability and ethics (Status Anxiety) · search the archive · Small family-owned factories; annual external audits under SMETA, BSCI and QMIA; tanneries following LWG practices, no share given
  3. Status Anxiety Newtown store · search the archive · Status Anxiety's own store in Newtown, Sydney

Company details

Headquarters
Australia
Last researched
3 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Status Anxiety ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/status-anxiety, 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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Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.

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Something missing or wrong?

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

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