Tod's
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Italian luxury brand known for Gommino driving loafers.
In 2025, workers at subcontracted workshops making Tod's shoe parts were paid under a third of the national wage.
Also worth knowing
Tod's has only partly put this right.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- 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.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it has only partly put right: unpaid or underpaid wages, last recorded in 2025.
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 natural rubber) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: leather and natural rubber
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain: no certification, independent audits or supplier list
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 Tod'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.
Shoes, Sneakers, Boots, Sandals & thongs, Bags & backpacks, Jackets & coats, Knitwear: Harm on record, the same as Tod's 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 Tod's S.p.A.'s countries across all its brands; Tod's doesn't say where its own products are made. The rest is shown as where clothes and shoes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 90% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| BangladeshUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | 2% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| CambodiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | under 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| PakistanUsual for the industry | under 1% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- 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 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.
- Doesn't show where its natural rubber comes from. Natural rubber is linked to forced and child labour on some rubber plantations, 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 Tod's Group says about 94% of its suppliers and 90% of its workshops are in Italy, 59% in the Marche region, but it does not name its other production countries. It runs some factories of its own in the Marche but relies heavily on outside workshops. Labour inspections in 2024-25 found severe underpayment at subcontracted workshops making its shoe parts; after prosecutors acted it cut ties with four subcontractors and pledged tighter checks. It publishes no supplier list, no living wage commitment and no leather traceability figures, and scored about 9% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Listed | Scored 22 out of 250 points (about 9%) in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, down from 50.5 in 2020. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Company profile records 6 allegations, including the 2025 Milan labour exploitation case, with 2 response requests and a 0% response rate. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | In November 2025 Milan prosecutors sought a six-month advertising ban on Tod's and placed it and three managers under investigation over labour exploitation at subcontractors. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Carabinieri labour inspectors found that Chinese-owned workshops making Tod's shoe uppers and components (Jan 2024-Jan 2025) and staff uniforms paid workers about 2.75-3 euros an hour against a 10-euro national rate, with pay deducted for housing and food; a Milan court found the case for judicial administration well founded (Reuters via BHRRC, 2025). Source · search the archive | PartlyTod's denies wrongdoing; it cut ties with four subcontractors, hired a consultant and pledged tighter supplier checks and training in December 2025. |
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.
- Milan prosecutors allege Tod's ignored years of audit warnings about exploitation of 53 mostly Chinese workers at subcontractors; Tod's and three managers were placed under investigation in November 2025 and prosecutors sought a six-month advertising ban; Tod's denies wrongdoing and no ruling had been reported by late 2026 (AFP via FashionNetwork, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Italy: Tod's faces judicial administration over alleged worker exploitation (BHRRC/Reuters) · search the archive · Carabinieri inspections: 2.75-3 euros an hour vs 10 euros; uppers made Jan 2024-Jan 2025; court found request well founded
- Tod's (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · FTI 2023 22.3/250; 6 allegations; 0% response rate; no evidence of living wage
- Tod's: three executives under investigation over labour exploitation (FashionNetwork/AFP) · search the archive · 53 mostly Chinese workers at six subcontractors; audits showing exploitation allegedly not acted on; Tod's disputes
- Tod's granted delay to ad ban ruling (Reuters via MarketScreener) · search the archive · Six-month ad ban sought; Tod's cut ties with four subcontractors and pledged tighter checks; hearing moved to Feb 2026
Published by Tod's or its owner
- Tod's launches new sustainability report (TheIndustry.fashion, 2025) · search the archive · About 94% of suppliers and 90% of workshops in Italy, 59% in Marche; 5,267 group employees
- Tod's Group sustainability · search the archive · Leather: major use, no traceability figures; supplier code of conduct; digital passport on Gommino loafer
- Tod's official website · search the archive · Rubber: major use in Gommino pebble soles, untraced. Cotton: minor use in ready-to-wear, untraced
Company details
- Headquarters
- Italy
- Employees
- About 5,267
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Tod's ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/tods, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Better-graded footwear
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 Tod's.