Target Australia
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Australian chain selling own-brand clothing and homewares.
Target Australia can't show that the workers who make its products in Bangladesh and Vietnam earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
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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: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2019) was a link through a supplier, which the company has acted on.
- 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
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
- 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, other than one it has put rightIts supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2019, which it has since acted on. That's listed below and no longer counts against the grade.
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listPublishes its supplier list
- Not met: High-risk raw materials (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton
Red flags 1
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Gives workers a real voice |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Target Australia says it makes products in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Wesfarmers' figures name China. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Bangladesh | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Cambodia | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Publishes supplier list
- Signed the International Accord on garment factory safety Source
- Modern slavery statement
- Independent social audits of all its main factories
- Actively empowers workers (ownership, worker committees, union agreements, training)
- 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.
Research notes Target is part of Wesfarmers' Kmart Group, which since 2020 has closed or converted many Target stores to Kmart, leaving about 128. Its own-brand clothing is made by outside suppliers under a combined Kmart and Target ethical sourcing programme: it publishes a factory list every six months (latest November 2025), uses third-party audits, is a Better Work member in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam and has signed the International Accord. It belongs to the ACT living wage initiative, but does not say how much it makes in each country, and Oxfam notes that, unlike Kmart, Target has not ring-fenced wages in its buying prices.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Kmart and Target Australia scored 76% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, the latest full edition. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Unclear | Not scored separately in the 2026 Ethical Fashion Report; Kmart Australia, which shares Kmart Group's ethical sourcing programme with Target, scored 47 out of 100 (average 31.5). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Company profile lists 794 apparel facilities on the Open Apparel Registry and notes Fashion Checker found no public evidence that suppliers pay a living wage. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Link through a supplierA 2019 ABC investigation linked a Huafu Fashion cotton mill in Xinjiang, where a former worker said she came from a government 're-education' programme, to yarn used by one of Target's direct suppliers; Target confirmed the link and stopped orders from the mill (ABC via BHRRC, 2019). Source · search the archiveActed on The company has acted on this link, so it no longer counts against the grade. | YesTarget stopped orders from the Xinjiang mill and stopped sourcing Xinjiang cotton; no remedy for workers has been reported. |
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.
- Oxfam Australia's 2019 'Made in Poverty' report named Target among Australian brands supplied by factories in Bangladesh and Vietnam where almost none of the workers interviewed earned a living wage; findings were not broken down by brand, and Target had announced living wage commitments before the report (SBS, 2019). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Cotton On and Target Australia stop buying cotton from Xinjiang over human rights concerns (BHRRC) · search the archive · ABC, October 2019: Target stopped orders from the Xinjiang mill and stopped sourcing cotton from Xinjiang
- Kmart Australia - Good Shopping Guide (ethical.org.au) · search the archive · Kmart Group runs 324 Kmart and 128 Target stores; 2026 EFR: Kmart Australia 47/100, Target not scored; Oxfam: Target hasn't ring-fenced wages
- Gucci overtakes Kmart and Target in transparency (Ragtrader, 2023) · search the archive · Kmart and Target Australia scored 76% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index
- Cotton On and Target Australia stop buying cotton from Xinjiang over human rights concerns · search the archive · Target investigated the Huafu mill in Xinjiang and stopped orders from it
Published by Target Australia or its owner
- Factory List - Target Australia · search the archive · Lists factories making own-brand apparel and general merchandise, plus processing sites; updated every six months, latest November 2025
- Sourcing Ethically - Target Australia · search the archive · International Accord signatory; Better Work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam; ACT member; third-party audits; shared programme with Kmart
- Wesfarmers 2025 Modern Slavery Statement · search the archive · Covers Kmart Group, including Target, whose own-brand factories are mapped together; China is on the sourcing map
Company details
- Owned by
- Wesfarmers (Kmart Group)
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Target Australia ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/target-australia, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded basics
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 Target Australia.