Baseline Assessment: Assessing working conditions in L’Oréal’s coconut supply chain in the Philippines (Negros Oriental and Siquijor Island)
L’Oréal, the world’s largest beauty and personal care company, has been working with the Fair Labor Association since 2021 on projects like Harvesting the Future programs in Türkiye and Egypt. In 2024, L’Oréal joined FLA, pursuing Fair Labor Accreditation for its coconut oil and derivatives supply chain (referred to simply as its coconut supply chain) in the Philippines.
Between March 24-29, 2025, we completed this baseline assessment, which included visits to farms that are part of L’Oréal’s prospective coconut supply chain in the Philippines. The farms were selected from Negros Oriental and Siquijor Provinces. These farms are located in the municipalities of Pamplona, Santa Catalina, Basay, Larena, Lazi, and Siquijor, collectively covering an area of approximately 143 hectares, which constitutes nearly 15.8% of the total land area in the Philippines dedicated to coconut farming.
We interviewed a local supplier (copra processor), two intermediaries (copra collectors), as well as 163 farmers and seasonal workers to verify labor practices against our Workplace Code of Conduct (COC), which establishes labor standards aimed at achieving decent working conditions based on International Labour Organization (ILO) standards and internationally accepted good labor practices. Assessors conducted interviews either individually or in group settings and held interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with other stakeholders and community members to gather additional information on labor issues.
Assessment background and methodology
Our baseline assessments provide situational awareness by examining the status of a company’s supply chain, country risks, community profile, local stakeholders, farmer and worker profiles, and labor risks. Baseline assessments also guide the development of a company’s monitoring and remediation program.
As part of the annual due diligence cycle for our members, we conducted a supplier’s Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) evaluation and an Independent External Monitoring (IEM) assessment of L’Oréal’s coconut supply chain against the Fair Labor Code and Compliance Benchmarks for Agriculture as part of this baseline assessment in 2025. The HRDD assessment and IEM evaluation supplement the baseline assessment with deeper insights into the cluster-level state of internal supply chain operations, fundamental labor management systems, and labor risks, among other topics.
Key findings from this report
This report provides insights into one cluster of L’Oréal’s coconut supply chain in the Philippines, its farming context, local labor management system and programs, and labor condition issues such as recruitment practices, wages, benefits, and grievance mechanisms.
The labor risk assessment covered the nine elements of our COC. The assessment highlighted vulnerabilities rooted in an absence of management systems and regulatory awareness. Key findings center on:
- Informal employment relationships;
- A lack of written contracts, transparent wage documentation, grievance mechanisms, and avenues for freedom of association; and
- Limited health and safety compliance, specifically the absence of personal protective equipment (PPE), emergency protocols, and chemical safety training.
While the assessment did not identify any active instances of forced labor, discrimination, or child labor, risks in the sector may exist.