Multi-Standard Compliance Audit (Sedex, BSCI, ICS & FTA) for a Nepal-Based Handicraft Manufacturer
About the Client
A Nepal-based manufacturer of handmade wool felt products, producing home décor, seasonal items, and accessories for private-label and custom collections. The unit employs a largely women-led artisan workforce and supplies international brands and retailers under Fair Trade manufacturing principles.
The Challenge
Operating across multiple buyer-mandated compliance frameworks — Sedex (SMETA), BSCI, ICS, and FTA — meant reconciling overlapping but not identical requirements without duplicating audit effort. The bigger challenge was on the ground: much of the artisan workforce was more comfortable in Nepali than in the English-language documentation typically used for compliance training. This created a real gap between what policies said and what workers actually understood — their rights, grievance channels, and basic labour law protections weren’t landing the way they needed to.
Solution by QABS
QABS ran a combined readiness assessment across all four standards, mapping overlapping clauses so the facility wasn’t preparing four times over. Because the root issue was understanding, not intent, QABS designed and delivered worker training in Nepali — covering labour rights, grievance mechanisms, and health & safety — and localized key worker-facing documentation so policies were genuinely understood on the floor, not just signed off on paper.
Outcome
The facility successfully cleared its Sedex, BSCI, ICS, and FTA audits. Auditor feedback specifically noted stronger worker awareness and communication compared to earlier audit cycles — a direct result of training being delivered in the workforce’s own language rather than translated after the fact.
Preparing for a Sedex, BSCI, ICS, or FTA audit? Get in touch with QABS for a readiness assessment.