Labour Lens

Thom Browne

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 · 6 sources

New York label known for grey tailoring.

Thom Browne publishes no supplier list or independent audits, which Italian fashion needs before we presume a living wage, because Milan prosecutors have found luxury brands' subcontractors exploiting migrant workers.

See better luxury and designer options

Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Thom Browne? Send a right of reply.

Compare Thom Browne with another brand

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
  • 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
  • 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, leather and cashmere) 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

Stars it would earn as Good

None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Estimates for its products

Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Thom Browne'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.

Suits, Knitwear, Shirts, Pants & trousers, Jackets & coats, Shorts, Shoes, Bags & backpacks: Lacks transparency, the same as Thom Browne 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

These are Ermenegildo Zegna's countries across all its brands; Thom Browne doesn't say where its own products are made. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
ItalyStrong protectionsClose to a living wageLow
ChinaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
BangladeshUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
VietnamUsual for the industrySystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
IndiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
CambodiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
TürkiyeUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageVery high
IndonesiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
PakistanUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageHigh

Evidence

What we found

  • Modern slavery statement
  • Being made in Italy doesn't count towards a living wage or audit here: Italian fashion and leather goods, where Milan prosecutors have found luxury brands' subcontractors exploiting migrant workers. It would need to publish its suppliers or have them independently audited.
  • 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.
  • Uses leather and cashmere in only a few products and doesn't show where they come from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.

Research notes Thom Browne is made partly in Zegna Group plants and partly by outside suppliers the group says are largely in Italy; the group says Made in Italy is the large majority of all its brands' production, but gives no Thom Browne factory list or country split, so no share is shown. Zegna has a supplier code of conduct and its own supplier audits, but no living wage commitment or published audit results. 99% of group bovine leather comes from Leather Working Group tanneries, which does not show where hides come from. Not rated in the Ethical Fashion Report.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
UK Modern Slavery Statement RegistryListedErmenegildo Zegna NV published a 2024 modern slavery statement in May 2025, covering the group that owns Thom Browne. View

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Thom Browne (Good On You) · search the archive · Rated not good enough on labour; no evidence of living wage payments or worker empowerment.
  2. Italian police conduct raids on several luxury brands in labour abuse probe (Euronews) · search the archive · Brands raided in the July 2026 probe; Thom Browne and Zegna are not named.
  3. Thom Browne to bet on Italy (MF Fashion) · search the archive · Thom Browne has focused on quality by producing in Italy.
  4. Zegna Responsibility 2022 (supplier code and audits) · search the archive · Supplier code bans forced labour, requires legal minimum pay; internal audit ranks and audits suppliers.

Published by Thom Browne or its owner

  1. Zegna Annual Report 2025 · search the archive · Made in Italy is the large majority of all brands' production; outside suppliers largely in Italy; Thom Browne sells childrenswear.
  2. Ermenegildo Zegna NV 2024 Modern Slavery Statement · search the archive · Group modern slavery statement for 2024, published May 2025.

Company details

Headquarters
United States
Last researched
3 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Thom Browne ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/thom-browne, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Better-graded suits and tailoring

15 op shops and resale platforms, Good by ruleBuying second-hand or refurbished: GlamCorner and Blue Spinach and 13 more · See them allGoodBianca SpenderMissing: where its earlier stages happen and a named supplier list · Clothing & footwearSydney-made women's designer fashionPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedMandatoryMissing: where its earlier stages happen and traced raw materials · Clothing & footwearWellington-made menswear and suitingPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedSuitsupplyMissing: living wage proof and traced raw materials · Clothing & footwearMen's and women's suitsPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackVerified

No suits and tailoring brand selling new goods is Good yet. These are the strongest so far. Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.

See every suits and tailoring brand

Something missing or wrong?

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

Send evidenceSend a right of reply