Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 30 October 2026 · 7 sources
Japanese coffee roaster selling drip bags, ground coffee and canned coffee.
UCC can't show that the people who grow its coffee in Vietnam and Colombia earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and unaudited production in high-risk countries. 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 5
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its coffee is grown in countries such as Colombia and Indonesia, 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
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
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 UCC'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.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its coffee is grown
These are UCC Holdings' coffee origins across all its brands; UCC doesn't say where its own coffee is grown. The rest is shown as where coffee is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Colombia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ethiopia | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Honduras | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Peru | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Uganda | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Tanzania | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Low |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Kenya | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Costa Rica | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| GuatemalaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: coffee is on the US Department of Labor child or forced labour list for over a dozen countries, and farm-gate prices often fall below a living income.
- Modern slavery statement
Research notes UCC Group buys green coffee from about 15 origins; its UK statement lists Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Colombia, Honduras, Kenya, Peru, Tanzania, Uganda and Costa Rica, and its 2025 report names Brazil and Tanzania as strategic origins, with no shares given. UCC aims for its own brands to be 100% sustainably sourced by 2030 but does not publish the current share for UCC-branded coffee; its European and Australian arms report 96% and about 90% certified (Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, organic). It has a human rights roadmap and began independent supply chain audits in 2022, but publishes no supplier list or farm-level findings.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | UCC Coffee UK published a modern slavery statement for 2024 (August 2025), reporting 96% certified green coffee and no issues found. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | UCC Coffee Australia and Toby's Estate lodged a joint statement for 2021 on the Australian register; about 90% of beans certified by 2022. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | 2022 item reports UCC Holdings began independent audits of parts of its coffee bean supply chains in spring 2022. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Japan: Major consumer goods companies step up efforts to examine human rights (BHRRC, 2022) · search the archive · UCC Holdings introduced independent audits of its coffee bean supply chains in spring 2022
- UCC Ueshima Coffee 2025 Sustainability Report (summary) · search the archive · Aims for 100% sustainably sourced coffee by 2030; strategic origins Brazil and Tanzania; human rights roadmap
- UCC sustainability (UCC America) · search the archive · By 2030 all UCC branded coffee will be 100% sustainably sourced
- UCC Japan press release on sustainable sourcing (PR Times, June 2025) · search the archive · Target of 100% sustainable sourcing for own brands by 2030; no current share given
- UCC Craftsman drip coffee bags (Asian Grocer Online, Australia) · search the archive · UCC coffee sold online by an Australian retailer
Published by UCC or its owner
- UCC Coffee UK Modern Slavery Statement 2024 · search the archive · About 15 origins; origin countries listed by forced labour risk; 96% certified coffee in 2024; no cases reported
- UCC Coffee Australia and Toby's Estate Modern Slavery Statement 2021 · search the archive · UCC ANZ owned by UCC Holdings; about 15 origins; certified beans about 90% of purchases by September 2022
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Last researched
- 30 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is UCC ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ucc, last researched 30 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent UCC.