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Social audits – how they protect companies and leave workers in the lurch Editors

The globalization of the clothing industry from the 1980s led to the outsourcing of production to other countries and subcontractors. Driven by low prices, the industry moved to low-wage countries, working conditions were secondary. It wasn't long before activists and journalists began to uncover violations of labour and human rights in the supply chains of well-known fashion companies. In response, the companies developed so-called codes of conduct, i.e. rules that set out which labour and social standards the supplier factories should comply with. Compliance with these rules was in turn monitored by other companies as part of so-called social audits. These audit firms usually had little experience in the apparel industry, so serious deficiencies were not and will not be detected on a regular basis. As a result, this audit system is not only inadequate for detecting and resolving problems, but also contributes to the continuation of labour rights violations worldwide. Nevertheless, a veritable industry of social audits has developed in the meantime, in which audit companies earn well. Examples of the failure of the social audit system include numerous deadly disasters and the continuation of systematic harassment and illegitimate exploitation of workers in factories under the alleged control of these surveillance systems.

The publication is a German summary. The full report was published in English under the title ‘Fig leaf for fashion – How social auditing protects brands and fails workers’. One English summary can be found here.

Scope: 13 pages
Reference: free of charge for download