Getting insight in working conditions in factories: audits are only effective if several conditions are met. For example, workers – the majority of them women - should be interviewed by a female local specialist, who speaks the language and is able to build a strong basis of trust among workers. The interviews should take place both before the audit outside the factory and during the audit. Building audit teams from labour experts from two or preferably three different organisations, moreover, helps assure that various parties take ownership in the audit process. For this reason FWF trains and maintains its own audit teams, consisting of experts from local organisations, in production countries where it is active. Thus, the risk of audit fraud is minimised, as is clearly illustrated by various studies.

China Labor Watch just released a study which addresses the problem of audit fraud. As CLW points out in its publication, audit fraud makes it impossible for buying companies detect and address violations of their Code of Conduct and local labour legislation. Ultimately this damages worker rights and obstructs the process of improving working conditions in audited factories. FWF believes that independent verification by multi-stakeholder initiatives is necessary to critically asses the systems set by buying companies to monitor working conditions in their supply chain.

• China

• hessnatur
• HempAge
• Gsus wholesale and design b.v.
• Hydrowear B.V.
• Kwintet Far East Limited
• Mammut Sports Group AG