Labour Lens

Zulu & Zephyr

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 2 November 2026 · 6 sources

Australian women's swimwear and resortwear label.

Zulu & Zephyr can't show that the workers who make its products in Indonesia and India earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.

Also worth knowing

It has no full independent audit.

Better-graded swimwear and surf

Graded higher than Zulu & Zephyr, selling the same kinds of things.

Bond-EyeMissing: where its earlier stages happen and a named supplier list · Clothing & footwearCrinkle-knit women's swimwearPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedBaku SwimwearMissing: where its earlier stages happen and a named supplier list · Clothing & footwearWomen's swimwear and resort wearPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedBudgy SmugglerMissing: where its earlier stages happen and a named supplier list · Clothing & footwearSwim briefs, swimwear and underwearPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verified

No swimwear and surf brand selling new goods is Good yet. These are the strongest so far.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
  • Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and a hidden, unaudited supply chain 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.

How grades are decided

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 China, Indonesia 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: High-risk raw materials (cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: cotton

Red flags 2

  • Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
  • Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights

Stars it would earn as Good

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

Where it's made

Zulu & Zephyr says which countries it makes its products in, but doesn't name the factories.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
ChinaNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
IndonesiaNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
IndiaNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh

Evidence

What we found

  • Uses recycled metals or fibres
  • 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.

Research notes Zulu & Zephyr says its suppliers are in China, Indonesia and India and describes woven, knitwear, denim and swimwear factories in China, but publishes no factory list or production shares. It says roughly half its suppliers have amfori BSCI or SMETA audits (all swimwear in BSCI-audited factories) and its supplier code is based on the ETI Base Code. The code requires at least the legal minimum wage; a living wage is named as a goal with no plan or wage data. Its Resort 23 guide puts GOTS organic cotton at 30-39% of ready-to-wear, plus some BCI and recycled cotton.

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Zulu & Zephyr - Good On You · search the archive · Updated 2025: over half of final-stage production BSCI/SMETA audited; no evidence of living wages
  2. How lifestyle brand Zulu & Zephyr found prime Byron and Bondi retail real estate (Inside Retail) · search the archive · Founded 2012 by sisters Karla Rose and Candice Rose-O'Rourke; swim and resortwear
  3. Zulu & Zephyr Resort 23 Sustainability Guide · search the archive · Suppliers in Indonesia, China, India; 100% of swimwear in BSCI-audited factories; GOTS cotton 30-39% of RTW, BCI 8%

Published by Zulu & Zephyr or its owner

  1. Zulu & Zephyr Manufacturing (Journal) · search the archive · Suppliers in Indonesia, China and India; China factories described; 4 of 9 suppliers in BSCI, 2 with SMETA; living wage stated as a goal
  2. Zulu & Zephyr Supplier Code of Conduct · search the archive · ETI Base Code-based code; legal minimum wage required; 3 of 6 partners BSCI, one joining Sedex
  3. Zulu & Zephyr Values · search the archive · Uses BCI and recycled cotton, REPREVE recycled nylon and RWS wool

Company details

Headquarters
Australia
Last researched
2 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Zulu & Zephyr ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/zulu-and-zephyr, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

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