TECNO
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 6 sources
Chinese smartphone brand owned by Transsion, sold mainly in Africa and Asia.
TECNO can't show that the workers who make its products in India and Ethiopia earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
Better-graded phones
Graded higher than TECNO, selling the same kinds of things. Second-hand first.
No phones brand selling new goods is Good yet. This is the strongest so far. Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
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Compare TECNO with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries and untraced high-risk mined materials. 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.
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: Traces its cobalt, gold and other conflict minerals to the mine
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't traceShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- 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 press and retailer reports; TECNO doesn't say where its products are made. The rest is shown as where electronics are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ethiopia | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Bangladesh | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TaiwanUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | 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.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- 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 TECNO is one of three phone brands of Shenzhen-based Transsion, alongside itel and Infinix. Transsion has set up its own phone factories in Ethiopia (since 2011), India and Bangladesh (Gazipur, about 1,000 workers in 2018); reports say the Ethiopian plant assembles parts brought from China. Transsion publishes no factory list, conflict minerals report or smelter list in English, and gives no split of how much is made in its own plants or by contract makers, or in China.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| KnowTheChain | Not listed | Transsion is not among the 45 companies in the 2025 KnowTheChain ICT benchmark. View |
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.
- More than 2,000 workers at Transsion's TECNO plants in Ethiopia went on strike over pay and working conditions in August 2018; the company did not respond to questions (The Reporter Ethiopia, 2018). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 6
Show all 6 sources
- 2025 KnowTheChain ICT Benchmark (BHRRC) · search the archive · 45 largest ICT companies assessed; Transsion not included
- Transsion investing Tk 100cr in handset plant (The Daily Star) · search the archive · Gazipur, Bangladesh plant making itel and TECNO phones, 1,000 workers, 2018
- China's Transsion, world's No. 5 smartphone maker, keeps ascending (KrASIA) · search the archive · Transsion set up factories in Ethiopia, India and Bangladesh; brands TECNO, itel and Infinix
- Tecno's Ethiopian market (Capital Ethiopia) · search the archive · Transsion Manufacturing PLC operating in Ethiopia since 2011; factory assembles parts brought from China
- Labor strikes halt Tecno mobile factory line (The Reporter Ethiopia) · search the archive · Strike by over 2,000 workers over pay and working conditions, August 2018
- Transsion, Africa's Mobile Phone Powerhouse, Seeks Hong Kong Listing (China Global South Project) · search the archive · Shenzhen-based; markets are Africa and other developing regions, with expansion into India, South East Asia and the Middle East
Company details
- Owned by
- Transsion Holdings
- Headquarters
- China
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is TECNO ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/tecno, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent TECNO.