MASHINIi

Koss Corporation.

KOSS.US | Manufacture of consumer electronics

Koss Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures headphones, headsets, and related accessories. The company's product line includes a variety of headphones for personal and professional use, such as stereophones, wireless headphones, noise-canceling headphones, and communication headsets. Koss p...Show More

Ethical Profile

Mixed.

Koss Corporation's ethical profile is mixed. A major historical concern involves a 2005-2010 internal fraud where the VP of Finance allegedly embezzled $31.5 million, leading to financial restatements. The CEO reportedly repaid bonuses, and the auditor settled $8.5 million for negligence. Environmentally, Koss has a DitchCarbon score of 23 and a 92.5% waste diversion rate. They are ISO 14001 certified, using up to 65% recycled materials in products. However, renewable energy usage is only 5.2%, with no net-zero target. On health, while reports suggest some Koss headphones may alleviate tinnitus, the company warns of potential hearing impairment from high volume use.

Value Scores

Better Health for All-30
-100100
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity0
-100100
Fair Pay & Worker Respect0
-100100
Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing0
-100100
Honest & Fair Business0
-100100
Kind to Animals0
-100100
No War, No Weapons0
-100100
Planet-Friendly Business-30
-100100
Respect for Cultures & Communities0
-100100
Safe & Smart Tech-30
-100100
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products0
-100100

Better Health for All

-30

Koss Corporation's principal goods, headphones, are generally considered to have no significant positive or negative health impact. While a case study on a specific Koss Pro Headphone model indicated potential benefits like alleviating tinnitus and improving hearing,

1
this is not stated as a company-wide impact across its product portfolio. The company's products carry a health externality risk, as prolonged exposure to noise exceeding 95dB may impair hearing.
2
Koss Corporation discloses this potential risk in its warranty information, stating, "Avoid playing the Product at high volume levels. Some studies have concluded that prolonged and extensive exposure to noise in excess of 95dB may impair hearing."
3
This disclosure is present but is limited to a single sentence without further detail on mitigation or comprehensive risk communication.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

0

No evidence available to assess Koss Corporation on Fair Money & Economic Opportunity.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

0

No specific, quantitative evidence was found in the provided articles for any of the 'Fair Pay & Worker Respect' KPIs for KOSS.US. While employee reviews from Indeed.com (updated October 19, 2025) indicate an overall rating of 3.3 out of 5, with specific ratings for pay and benefits (3.1), work-life balance (3.2), job security and advancement (3.1), management (2.9), and culture (2.9), these are qualitative ratings and do not provide the specific numerical data required by the rubric's KPIs (e.g., percentage of workforce, pay ratios, incident rates).

1
Qualitative mentions of 'high employee turnover rate' were also noted but lacked specific percentage data.
2

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

0

No quantitative evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Koss Corporation against the 'Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing' KPIs. One article explicitly stated it contained no relevant quantitative data.

1
while the other could not be accessed due to throttling.
2

Honest & Fair Business

0

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles for any of the KPIs within the specified timeframes or definitions. The articles primarily detail a significant fraud that occurred between 2005 and 2010, and the subsequent regulatory actions and legal settlements related to that historical event, which falls outside the relevant timeframes for most KPIs (e.g., past three or five years).

1
Information regarding regulatory fines, transparency index scores, whistleblower policies, financial restatements, audit coverage, ESG controversy scores, complaint resolution times, board conflict-free percentages, anti-corruption policies, or third-party verification for the specified recent periods is not present.

Kind to Animals

0

No evidence available to assess Koss Corporation on Kind to Animals.

No War, No Weapons

0

No evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Koss Corporation against the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value. The articles explicitly state a lack of data regarding arms sales, defense contracts, peacebuilding initiatives, or any other metrics relevant to this value.

1
Several articles indicate a general absence of sustainability or responsibility reports for the company on these topics.
2

Planet-Friendly Business

-30

Koss Corporation sources 5.2% of its operational energy consumption from renewables.

1
The company has a waste diversion rate of 92.5% from landfill.
2
For specific product lines, the recycled to virgin material ratio is 65% for PortaPro Green Edition, 50% for Bluetooth Eco Series, and 55% for the Sustainable Headphone Collection.
3
The company has not recorded any environmental compliance violations.
4

Respect for Cultures & Communities

0

No evidence available to assess Koss Corporation on Respect for Cultures & Communities.

Safe & Smart Tech

-30

Koss Corporation states it has not been impacted by any previous cybersecurity incidents, indicating no documented data breaches or unauthorized data use incidents.

1
The company mentions using data encryption and firewall technology as security measures.
2
It partners with a breach protection platform for security and phishing training.
3
For vulnerability management, Koss performs annual vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and periodic web application scanning.
4
However, the company's privacy policies state that users can withdraw consent, request access, correction, erasure, and data transfer, but exercising these rights may void or suspend the product warranty.
5
While GDPR compliance is mentioned, the policy also addresses the California Shine the Light Law, but the warranty caveat for exercising rights is a significant limitation.
6

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

0

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles for Koss Corporation regarding its waste diversion rate, product recyclability, packaging sustainability, recycled content percentage, single-use plastic reduction, take-back program coverage, circular design principles, waste reduction initiatives, hazardous waste management, product durability, repairability score, waste audit frequency, zero waste certification, waste disposal violations, material efficiency, packaging-to-product ratio, waste reduction targets, supplier waste requirements, or customer waste education.

1
The available information explicitly states that data for these metrics is not available or not disclosed for Koss Corporation.
2

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AI-generated analysis based on publicly available data. Not financial advice. Ratings are expressions of opinion derived from automated models and may contain inaccuracies. See our Risk Disclosure for full details.