Homewares, furniture & appliances
Furniture, linen, kitchenware and appliances are made from timber, cotton, clay, plastic and metal, and the riskiest work is often in the forests, fields and chemical plants behind the factory.
8,000
prisoners in Belarus were made to work for the prison service, the country's biggest timber company, Earthsight estimated
SourceEarthsight (2022): Rubberstamping repression (press release) (opens in a new tab)
10%
of the world's PVC is made in the Uyghur Region, where every PVC maker takes part in state labour transfers
158
companies were supplied with the region's PVC through 73 intermediaries
How the 498 brands we've graded split
The industry at a glance
A homewares brand often sells hundreds of products from dozens of suppliers, so it can be hard to say where one chair or saucepan was made. When a company doesn't say, Labour Lens grades it on the countries homewares usually come from, mostly China, then Vietnam, India and Poland.
Investigators found Belarusian prison labour behind furniture sold by big European retailers, a problem no audit of the final factory would find. (Earthsight, 2022: Rubberstamping repression (press release) (opens in a new tab))
Labour Lens grades homewares on the factories that make them, and checks whether the company traces or certifies its high-risk materials, such as timber and cotton.
On the record
- Earthsight traced furniture made with Belarusian prison labour to IKEA, BUT and XXXLutz. (Earthsight, 2022: Rubberstamping repression (press release) (opens in a new tab))
- FSC and PEFC certified some Belarusian prison timber operations in late 2020, then withdrew all their certificates in Belarus after Russia invaded Ukraine. (Earthsight, 2022: Rubberstamping repression (press release) (opens in a new tab))
- One Uyghur Region PVC maker, Xinjiang Zhongtai, moved more than 5,000 workers through state labour transfers. Much of the region's PVC goes into vinyl flooring sold around the world. (Sheffield Hallam University, Helena Kennedy Centre, 2022: Built on repression: PVC building materials' reliance on labor and environmental abuses in the Uyghur Region (opens in a new tab))
- Xinjiang grows about a fifth of the world's cotton, used in sheets, towels and cushions. The United States began holding cotton products from the region at the border in January 2021. (US International Trade Commission, 2022: New U.S. law may impede imports of wide range of products from Xinjiang, China (opens in a new tab))
- The US Department of Labor lists 18 resources in this industry from 30 countries as made with child or forced labour. See the list
Along the supply chain
Timber, cotton, clay, PVC and metals
What happens here
Illegal logging is linked to forced labour, cotton to forced labour in Xinjiang, and PVC to state labour transfers in the Uyghur Region.
What we check
Whether the company traces or certifies its timber (FSC or PEFC) and cotton where they're a major part of its range.
The plants that turn materials into parts
What happens here
Timber, textiles and carpets from several countries are on the US Department of Labor's list for child or forced labour.
What we check
Whether it shows where these earlier stages happen, not only where products are finished.
Furniture, textile, ceramics and appliance factories in China, Vietnam, India, Poland and elsewhere
What happens here
Pay and conditions depend on the country. Legal wages in China, Vietnam and India are below a living wage, while Poland's are close to one.
What we check
Whether it publishes its suppliers, has its factories independently audited and shows a living wage.
Furniture chains, department stores and homewares brands
What happens here
The brand or retailer chooses its suppliers and decides whether to publish them.
What we check
SA8000 factories and WFTO membership count strongly. A supplier list with full independent audits counts too.
Op shops, vintage dealers and resale sites
What happens here
Second-hand furniture and homewares create no new demand for logging, farming or factory work.
What we check
Second-hand businesses can be Good when they have no red flags. They don't earn stars.
The extra check for Good
Traces or certifies its high-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton).
Missing it holds a brand at On Track at best.
High-risk materials we look for
- Cotton
- Forced labour in Xinjiang and Turkmenistan, and child labour in several growing regions.
- Leather
- Hazardous tannery work and forced labour on some cattle ranches.
- Timber
- Illegal logging linked to forced labour.
Resources on the US Department of Labor's list
The list names resources and the countries where the Department found child labour or forced labour in producing them. It covers whole countries, not companies.
18 resources shown
| Resource | Child labour | Forced labour |
|---|---|---|
| Cotton | Argentina, Azerbaijan, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Zambia | Benin, Burkina Faso, China, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan |
| Carpets | Afghanistan, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan | India, Nepal, Pakistan |
| Textiles | Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Pakistan, Vietnam | China, North Korea |
| Timber | Cambodia, Vietnam | Brazil, North Korea, Peru, Russia |
| Furniture | Pakistan, Türkiye, Vietnam | Belarus |
| Leather | Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam | Not listed |
| Thread/Yarn | India | China, India |
| Bamboo | Myanmar | Myanmar |
| Leather Goods/Accessories | India, Mexico | Not listed |
| Teak | Myanmar | Myanmar |
| Textiles (hand-woven) | Ethiopia | Ethiopia |
| Artificial Flowers | Not listed | China |
| Brassware | India | Not listed |
| Ceramics | Brazil | Not listed |
| Christmas Decorations | Not listed | China |
| Furniture (steel) | Bangladesh | Not listed |
| Jute (textiles) | Bangladesh | Not listed |
| Lumber | Not listed | Belarus |
What earns each grade
Good
14 of 498 brands
- Makes its products in its own factories in countries such as Australia or Italy, and shows where its materials come from
- Publishes its suppliers, has them independently audited and shows a living wage
- Certifies or traces its timber and cotton, for example FSC, PEFC, GOTS or Fairtrade
- Or a WFTO Guaranteed Fair Trade business, or a second-hand seller with no red flags
For example LAMY, Nachtmann, Riedel · See all 14
On Track
84 of 498 brands
- Publishes its suppliers and has them audited, with a public plan to pay a living wage
- Makes its products in Australia or Europe, but doesn't show where its materials and parts are made
For example Comandante, ECOYA, Fissler · See all 84
- Doesn't say where its products are made, so it's graded on conditions in China
- Publishes its suppliers but shows nothing on wages, with most production where unions are restricted
- FSC certified timber, with nothing on the factory workers who make the furniture
For example Kartell, Artek, KeepCup · See all 395
- Prison or forced labour found in its supply chain, in the last five years, that it hasn't put right
For example Keter, Milwaukee Tool, Dyson · See all 5
Signs of a fair supply chain
- FSC or PEFC certified timber
- A supplier list naming factories and their countries
- SA8000 certified factories, or WFTO membership
- Made in its own workshops, with materials traced
Warning signs
- "Sustainable" or "eco" claims about materials, with nothing on workers
- Cotton sheets and towels with no stated cotton origin
- Vinyl flooring with no PVC origin
Try the rules
Pick an example or tick what a company can show, and see the grade the rules would give it.
The grade it would get
Grade: Lacks transparency
This company makes its products in China, where unions are heavily restricted. There's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in China is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certification
- Not 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
- Met: High-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its range
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
A made-up company, graded by the same rules as every brand on Labour Lens. What Lacks transparency means
The full rules are on the Grading page, with the finer points on Resources.
The brands we've graded
Where they make things
442 of the 498 brands say where they make their products. The countries they name most:
| Country | Brands | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 241 | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | 75 | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| Italy | 68 | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| India | 66 | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Vietnam | 59 | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Germany | 53 | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Australia | 48 | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Thailand | 45 | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Good homewares and appliances brands
Questions and answers
6 questions
Does FSC timber mean the furniture was made fairly?
No. FSC and PEFC certify how the forest is managed, including core labour rights for forest workers. They don't cover the sawmill or the furniture factory.
Both schemes had certified some Belarusian prison timber operations before withdrawing all their certificates in Belarus (opens in a new tab). On Labour Lens, FSC or PEFC passes the timber check, and the factories are graded on their own evidence.
Are appliances graded as homewares?
Yes. Fridges, kettles, vacuums and other appliances are graded with homewares and furniture, on where they're made and the evidence behind them. Their electronic parts and metals carry mining risks, but the mined-metals check applies to electronics, not appliances.
Is "Made in Italy" or "Made in Germany" cookware made fairly?
Usually the final factory is, because legal wages there are close to a living wage and labour laws are strong. The label can cover only the last stage, though.
To be Good on the country alone, a company has to show where its earlier stages happen, such as the metal, glass or ceramics.
Why does cotton matter for sheets and towels?
Xinjiang grows about a fifth of the world's cotton, and forced labour there is well documented. A homewares brand that uses cotton in most of its range needs to trace or certify it, for example GOTS organic or Fairtrade cotton, to be Good.
Is second-hand furniture Good?
Second-hand and vintage businesses can be Good when they have no red flags, because they create no new demand for logging, farming or factory work. They don't earn stars. Browse them on the second-hand page.
Are rugs and carpets a special risk?
Yes. The US Department of Labor lists carpets from Afghanistan, India, Iran, Nepal and Pakistan as made with child labour, and those from India, Nepal and Pakistan with forced labour too. A rug brand needs to name its workshops and show how they're checked.
Sources
- Rubberstamping repression (press release) (opens in a new tab) Earthsight, 2022
- Built on repression: PVC building materials' reliance on labor and environmental abuses in the Uyghur Region (opens in a new tab) Sheffield Hallam University, Helena Kennedy Centre, 2022
- New U.S. law may impede imports of wide range of products from Xinjiang, China (opens in a new tab) US International Trade Commission, 2022
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (opens in a new tab) US Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), 2024
Figures are as each source published them. The grades and brand counts are Labour Lens's own, from the brands we've researched.
Know a homewares and appliances brand we haven't graded?
Ask us to research it