China Pilot 1998 - 2000
ETI Experimental Projects
| Issue: | Comparison of different approaches to inspecting against all aspects of the ETI Base Code in China | project documents  |
| Industry/sector focus: | Clothing and footwear | |
| Country focus: | China | |
| Start date: | Began in September 1998 | |
| Project status: | Former | |
Introduction to Project
Early on in the ETI’s existence, members were finding many examples of inappropriate working conditions in workplaces in China and were keen to try to tackle some of the more problematic areas for them to bring about improvements. The project brought them together to work to identify mechanisms for inspecting and bringing about change in the production conditions in factories producing footwear and clothing in China.
Project aims and objectives
Members sought to develop and test four methodologies for inspecting labour conditions within China and to compare their efficacy. These were:
- NGO/union/business developed approach
- academic approach
- company self-auditing
- off the peg external commercial auditor
Key achievements and challenges:
Two of the original approaches, the self audit and commercial audit were achieved promptly:
- The self-audit carried out two follow-up visits to assess progress against
the improvement plan. Initially good progress was made but this was retrenched
upon by the third visit. The group learned a lot about approaches to negotiating
sustained improvements in China from this approach.
- The commercial approach was an ‘off the peg’ approach.No group member attended this inspection making it possible to review it from the perspective of a company staff member using it as a tool for ethical sourcing. This allowed several conclusions about the efficacy of the reporting format.
It was not possible to reach agreement with potential partners to work on a comparative multi-stakeholder type ‘inspection only’ approach within the timescale of the project. As a result, an independent NGO inspection was substituted. This was carried out and again reviewed for efficacy of use by a company. The report was found to be limited in content and negative compared to the detail of the inspection experience which the company representative shadowing the day experienced and described. Clear conclusions about the fitness for purpose of the report in encouraging change with a factory were raised and also fed back to the inspecting organisation.
Nor was it possible, within the original project timescale, to identify an academic who could develop and carry out an inspection approach. As a result this approach was abandoned.
Three individual inspection visits were made and improvement plans presented to be followed, but only the approach with the follow-up visits revealed any significant improvements.
Nevertheless, some valuable lessons on how to engage collaboratively on work in China were learned. A review of the project was carried out and the process and lessons recorded as a resource for ETI members. In particular, the group found that the nuances of detail which experiencing a factory inspection reveals to an individual were not done justice in the inspection reports submitted by external inspectors. From this a conclusion was that external reports, available at that time, had serious limitations for a closely managed and serious ethical trade programme, even more so if not used in conjunction with other methods of engagement where a purchaser had direct experience of the workplaces.
Who was involved?
ETI members:
Companies: Littlewoods, Monsoon, Pentland, Tesco as well
as their suppliers, in China
Trade unions: ITGLWF and ICFTU
NGOs: Oxfam, Women Working Worldwide and initial discussions
with their partners
For further information contact:
Project documents, links etc:
- For relevant docs/links please see China Project (current project)
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