How coronavirus is altering apparel factory audits

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With many fashion brands and manufacturers unable to visit factories due to travel bans and lockdowns during the Covid-19 crisis, there are numerous ways they can still proceed with responsible sourcing. By Jonathan Dyson

Hervé Ostrowski, chief operating officer at Hong Kong-based supply chain compliance solutions provider QIMA, advises that “brands must have reliable boots on the ground…who can still carry out onsite audits” when possible.

“No remote solution can fully adequately replace an onsite visit,” he stresses, noting that verifying the accessibility of exit doors, for instance, can only be done by an onsite auditor. However, “brands can resort to technology to maintain some control, implementing remote video inspections, worker surveys and providing apps and tools to their suppliers for reporting.”

Avedis Seferian, president and CEO of US-based WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production), agrees there are limitations to remote audits – noting that “for example, you can’t smell volatile organic compounds by video.” He suggests brands cannot validate social compliance at a facility they are engaging for the first time without an onsite visit, unless it has been receiving ongoing assessment from another (trusted) brand, or an independent certification organisation such as WRAP.

That said, the vast majority of factories in any compliance programme is made up of repeat factories, with 70-75% of those in the WRAP programme each year being recertifications.

“By definition, these factories are ones that have already been physically visited in the recent past,” meaning that, for now at least, temporary remote validation is therefore a viable prospect. Given the current restrictions on factory visits, those facilities needing to renew their WRAP certification can extend their current certifications by four months following the successful completion of a desktop audit.

Also offering flexibility with established suppliers is Testex, a Switzerland-based independent testing and certification organisation. It certifies factories in line with a number of international standards, notably Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex, which tests textiles for harmful substances, and STeP by Oeko-Tex, which provides certification for responsible production, covering areas such as chemicals management and social responsibility.

Adrian Meili, lead auditor at Testex, says although site visits for Standard 100 and STeP “cannot be performed during this coronavirus crisis, they will be postponed and done shortly after travelling is possible again – latest by September 2020.” In the meantime, facilities can “uphold their certification process” by sustaining their quality management system (QMS) and following their own policies.