The Social Studio
Good. Shows the people who make its products are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Melbourne social enterprise running a fashion school.
The Social Studio makes its products in its own factories in Australia and carries the Australian Made label.
Also worth knowing
Ethical Clothing Australia checks that every worker in its Australian supply chain is paid award wages and entitlements.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent The Social Studio? Send a right of reply.
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Why it's graded Good
- Met: Meets all 6 Good requirements.
- Met: No red flags.
- Met: Earns 4 stars for going above and beyond.
| Star | Awarded for | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Gives workers a real voice | Earned | |
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities | Earned | |
| Pays above a living wage | Not earned | |
| Open supply chain | Not earned |
3 stars for the first way it goes above and beyond, and one more for each further way, up to 6. About stars
Good requirements 6 of 6
- Met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: award wages independently checked (Ethical Clothing Australia)
- Met: Respects worker rights
- 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
- Met: High-risk raw materials (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeTraced or certified: cotton
Red flags 0
None found.
Accreditations 2
- Ethical Clothing AustraliaCounts as proof of a living wage for products made in Australia, because it checks workers get the legal pay rates for their job, and in Australia those are about a living wage.
- Australian MadeCounts as made in Australia for the final stage. For Good, the brand also needs to show where its materials and parts are made.
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using The Social Studio's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
Dresses & skirts, Shirts, Pants & trousers, Jackets & coats, Kids' clothes, Bags & backpacks, Socks, Hats: Good, the same as The Social Studio overall, because nothing we know differs between them.
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where it's made
From The Social Studio's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for clothes and shoes: traces or certifies its cotton.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Upcycled, deadstock or remade materials
- Actively empowers workers (ownership, worker committees, union agreements, training)
- Invests in worker and farming communities
- Traces or certifies most but not all of its cotton. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes Everything is made in The Social Studio's own production studio at Collingwood Yards in Melbourne, and Ethical Clothing Australia lists 100% of its products as Australian made and accredited, with annual audits. Production staff are paid under the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Award, and the studio employs and trains people from refugee and migrant backgrounds (about $95,000-$100,000 a year in wages to refugee and asylum-seeking staff in 2023-24 and 2024-25), but it publishes no living wage figures. In October 2026 its shop moved to Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, while manufacturing and the school stay at Collingwood Yards.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Certified | Listed in Ethical Clothing Australia's current brand directory with 100% of products made in Australia and accredited. View |
| B Corp directory | Not listed | No B Corp certification is claimed by the organisation. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Not listed | No labour allegations against The Social Studio appear in news or NGO reporting. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Ethical Clothing Australia: The Social Studio · search the archive · Listed and accredited (checked Nov 2026); 100% made in Australia; label made in-house in Collingwood; profits fund refugee training.
- Broadsheet: The Social Studio moves into a new Fitzroy store (Oct 2026) · search the archive · New store at 229 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, with mending service; manufacturing and school stay at Collingwood Yards.
Published by The Social Studio or its owner
- The Social Studio: Manufacturing · search the archive · All production in the Collingwood Yards studio to ECA standards; staff paid under the TCF Award 2020; audited annually.
- The Social Studio: home page · search the archive · Online shop active Nov 2026; production run from its Collingwood studio; over $1m in wages to refugees and asylum seekers since founding.
- The Social Studio: About · search the archive · Not-for-profit social enterprise; 60% of employees from refugee and culturally diverse backgrounds; in-house studio gives paid work.
- The Social Studio Impact Report 2024-25 · search the archive · $100,534 in wages and super paid to refugee and asylum-seeking staff; 10 newly arrived Afghan women given first paid jobs.
- The Social Studio Impact Report 2023-24 · search the archive · $95,433 in wages to refugee and asylum-seeker staff in 2023-24; ECA-accredited production studio; Work2Learn trainees.
Company details
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is The Social Studio ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/the-social-studio, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Good 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 The Social Studio.