How Labour Lens grades companies
Every company gets one of four grades. Grades follow clear rules, so you can always see exactly why a company landed where it did.
Good requires all of
- Pays a living wage
- Respects worker rights
- Full supply chain audit, or made only in countries with rigorous labour standards
- No child or forced labour findings
- Publishes where its products are made (supplier list, named farms or its own factories)
Great adds at least two of
- Pays beyond a living wage
- Finds and fixes problems, or invests directly in workers' communities
- Actively empowers workers
Red flags
Any red flag means Poor, unless the company pays (or is certified as working towards) a living wage and its only problem is a gap in supply chain checks.
- Does not pay a living wage
- Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Hidden or unaudited supply chain (no certification or documentation, or major production in countries with poor worker rights without independent audits)
- Instances of forced, slave or child labour
- Failing or very low scores on independent ratings
Also Poor
- Relies on hazardous raw materials (cobalt, gold, tin, mica, gemstones) without tracing them to the mine, using recycled materials, or selling refurbished goods
How each test is decided
Living wage. Proven by an accredited scheme (Fairtrade, WFTO, Fair for Life, SA8000, Ethical Clothing Australia, Fair Trade USA factories), published evidence, or direct trade with published prices. Otherwise assumed only when at least 80% of goods are made in countries whose legal minimum wage is close to a living wage benchmark (Global Living Wage Coalition, Anker methodology). Portugal and the United States don't qualify.
Working towards a living wage. Fair Wear membership, GOTS certification, the Fair Labor Association, a top Chocolate Scorecard rating or a public time-bound plan. These brands can reach Almost good, but not Good.
Worker rights. Based on the ITUC Global Rights Index for production countries, raised by schemes that protect union rights, and failed by documented rights or safety breaches.
Full supply chain audit. Independent supply chain schemes (Fairtrade, Fair Wear, GOTS, SA8000, WFTO and similar), a published supplier list backed by third-party audits, or direct trade. Alternatively, at least 80% made in countries with strong labour laws (ITUC 1-2) and the rest rated 3 or better.
Transparency. Good companies publish where their products are made: a supplier list, the farms or co-operatives they buy from, or their own factories.
Hidden or unaudited supply chain. No certification or documentation at all, or 30% or more of production in countries rated 5 or 5+ by ITUC without independent audits.
Hazardous raw materials. Electronics depend on metals from artisanal mines where workers, including children, face toxic exposure and deadly collapses. Unless a company traces these to the mine, uses recycled materials or sells refurbished goods, it is graded Poor however good its factories are.
Second-hand, rental and repair. Op shops, resale, refurbished electronics, clothing rental and repair services are graded Great, because buying from them creates no new demand for factory or mining labour.
No information? Unknown companies are graded on the labour standards expected in the countries where their industry usually makes its products. These grades are marked Est.
Company size. Labour Lens only rates companies with 10 or more employees.
Small direct-trade businesses (marked *)
Small coffee roasters and chocolate makers often buy directly from the farms they name, but can't afford certification or independent audits. Research on specialty coffee shows these buyers usually pay farm owners well above market and living-income prices. So when direct trade is genuinely central to a small business, we grade it Almost good and mark it with an asterisk, because the evidence comes from the company itself.
- Coffee and chocolate only. "Single-estate" tea usually means large plantations with hired workers, where low pay is well documented.
- Small and independent: under 250 staff, not owned by a larger group, and named farms or producers at the heart of the business.
- Origins must be disclosed, and less than half can come from origins on the US government's forced or child labour lists for that crop (Brazilian coffee; cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana).
- Higher prices for farm owners don't always reach the hired workers who pick the crop. That's why these grades never go above Almost good and can't be named "Best available".
- Any confirmed labour problem moves the business straight to Poor.
Living wage plans
A plan to pay a living wage only counts as "working towards one" if its deadline is within 5 years, or if it has real, measurable steps due within 5 years (for example, a set share of factories paying a living wage by a given year). Distant targets with nothing measurable in between don't count.
Best available
Brands are compared within their own category, such as footwear or appliances, not against everything else. When no brand in a category is Good or Great yet, we highlight the strongest one as "Best available", so you still have a better choice.
- Only Almost good brands can qualify: no serious red flags (no forced or child labour, abuse or failing ratings), and a proven living wage or real progress towards one.
- The category needs at least 3 rated brands, and estimated grades don't count.
- If every brand in a category is Poor, we don't name one. A category where everyone falls short has no "best".
- It's recalculated automatically whenever a brand is added or re-graded.
Where the evidence comes from
Every company is checked against these sources. Open databases are queried directly. Certification registers, ratings, government records and investigation trackers are searched on their official websites, and every finding links back to its source, with an archived copy.
| Source | Type | What it tells us |
|---|---|---|
| Wikidata | Company databases | Parent company, headquarters, headcount, official website |
| Open Food Facts | Company databases | Brand owner, where products are made, ingredient origins, Fairtrade labels (chocolate, coffee, tea) |
| Open Beauty Facts | Company databases | Brand owner and where products are made |
| Open Products Facts | Company databases | Brand owner and where products are made (homewares, electronics) |
| OpenCorporates | Company databases | Legal entity, jurisdiction and status |
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Certification registries | Whether the brand's products are Fairtrade certified |
| Fair Wear | Certification registries | Membership and Brand Performance Check category |
| B Corp directory | Certification registries | Certification status and impact scores |
| World Fair Trade Organization | Certification registries | Guaranteed Fair Trade membership |
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Certification registries | Accreditation of Australian-made supply chains |
| Open Supply Hub | Factory lists | Factories linked to the brand and their countries |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Independent ratings | Grade for worker empowerment, living wages and traceability |
| Fashion Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution) | Independent ratings | Transparency score |
| Chocolate Scorecard | Independent ratings | Rating on child labour, traceability and living income |
| KnowTheChain | Independent ratings | Forced labour benchmark score |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Independent ratings | Human rights due diligence score |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Government records | Whether the company lodges modern slavery statements |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Government records | Whether the company lodges modern slavery statements |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Government records | Goods and countries linked to child or forced labour |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Government records | Whether the company or its suppliers face forced-labour import bans |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Investigations and allegations | Allegations and the company's responses |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Investigations and allegations | Investigations by journalists and NGOs |
Problems count towards a grade only when confirmed by a court, regulator, government list, completed investigation, the company itself, or consistent reporting by several credible outlets. Unconfirmed reports are shown separately and don't affect the grade.
Old problems: an issue that ended more than 15 years ago is removed from a company's record, and so is one that ended 10–15 years ago if the company made amends to the people affected. Every other issue counts and is shown with its date and whether the company has made amends.
Problems a company finds through its own monitoring, publishes and is fixing (for example, child labour cases found by a cocoa company's own checks) are shown on its page but don't count against its grade. Looking hard and being open about what you find shouldn't be punished. Problems found first by regulators, courts, investigators or journalists always count.
Evidence levels
Backed by independent certification or audits.
Based on company reporting and known production countries, with limited independent checks.
Graded on the company's own direct-trade claims. It hasn't published the prices it pays or any independent checks, so we can't confirm that farm workers are paid fairly.
No company-specific evidence found. Assumed from where this industry usually makes its goods.
Certifications and what they're worth
| Scheme | Strength | What it checks |
|---|---|---|
| WFTO Guaranteed Fair Trade | Strong | Whole-organisation fair trade standard; requires a living wage commitment. |
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Strong | Accredits Australian-made supply chains; checks every worker is paid award wages and entitlements. |
| Fair Wear member | Strong | Independent factory audits, worker complaints helpline and a living wage roadmap. |
| Fairtrade certified | Strong | Minimum price and premium for farmers; audits for child and forced labour. Minimum price does not always reach a living income. |
| Fair for Life | Strong | Fair trade certification covering the whole supply chain, including hired workers. |
| SA8000 factories | Strong | Factory standard with a living wage requirement, independently audited. |
| Fairtrade cotton | Moderate | Covers cotton farming, not garment factories. |
| Fair Trade certified factory | Moderate | Fair Trade USA factory standard: audited conditions plus a premium paid to workers. Does not require a full living wage. |
| Fair Labor Association | Moderate | Brand-level accreditation with unannounced factory assessments. |
| GOTS organic | Moderate | Organic textile standard with social criteria; audits are announced and living wage is not required. |
| Certified B Corp | Moderate | Whole-company assessment. Labour is one part of the score, so it is supportive rather than proof. |
| Rainforest Alliance | Weak | Audited farm standard with no minimum price; weaker on wages than Fairtrade. |
| Responsible Business Alliance | Weak | Electronics industry code with third-party audits. Members set their own pace. |
| amfori BSCI / SMETA audited | Weak | Commercial social audits; useful but easily gamed and rarely check wages properly. |
| Australian Made | Moderate | Made in Australia under Australian award wages and Fair Work protections. |
| TCO Certified | Moderate | Product certification with supply chain labour criteria for final assembly factories. |
| Conflict-free minerals programme | Moderate | Responsible sourcing for tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold or cobalt. |
| Certified organic | Weak | Organic certification has no labour criteria beyond basics. |
| Social Traders certified | Moderate | Australian certified social enterprise. |
Sources: ITUC Global Rights Index 2025; Walk Free Global Slavery Index 2023; US Department of Labor List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor 2024; Global Living Wage Coalition; Chocolate Scorecard 2025; ASPI "Uyghurs for Sale" 2020; Fashion Transparency Index; Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report. Grades are opinions based on the published evidence listed for each company.