Significance of Compliance in Indian Garment Industry

Compliance is all about the quality of products from the factory which must meet the audits and inspections and to give a proper environment for working. The demand for compliance is growing rapidly in today’s business scenario as the buyers from the global markets are insisting on ethically manufactured products. As the export of garment products from India has increased, the demand for social compliance has also risen in the Indian garment Industry.

Social Compliance
Social compliance refers to how a business treats its employees, the environment and their perspective on social responsibility. It refers to a minimal code of conduct that directs how employees are treated with regards to wages, working hours and work conditions. To ensure that the company meets standards of various environmental laws, it may be necessary to conduct a compliance audit.

Compliance Audit
Audits and assessments provide vital management control for Process Safety Management, Process Security Management, and Risk Management Programs. Audits focus on the policies and procedures to verify compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards. They help to ensure programs are properly designed and implemented. Further, audits also identify program deficiencies so that recommendations can be developed for corrective action.

Compliance audit in India includes an examination of rules, regulations, orders and instructions for their legality, adequacy, transparency and prudence. Auditors gather information through visual observation at the site, document reviews and interviews of staff. This data is then compared to the applicable permits and regulations to evaluate how well the operation is conforming to the applicable legal requirements.

Phases of Audit
There are three main phases of compliance audit in India:

• Pre-audit: It includes planning and organising the audit; establishing the audit objectives, scope and etiquette; and reviewing the design of the program by inspecting documentation
• On-site audit: It includes conducting personnel interviews, reviewing records, and making observations to assess program implementation
• Post-audit: It includes briefing the management on audit findings, and preparing a final report

Therefore, Indian apparel manufacturers need to follow Government guidelines, and social compliance standards not only within their sphere of operations, but also insist their vendors, distributors, and other collaborators involved in the supply chain to do the same.

Core labour standards

• Elimination of Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation
• Freedom of Association
• Right to Collective Bargaining
• Elimination of all Forms of Forced or Compulsory Labour
• Effective Abolition of Child Labour

Apparel industry players would now make sure that labour contractors don’t engage forced or child labour and get the supply chain of the suppliers audited. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), an apex body of Indian apparel exporters, has designed a garment factory compliance program ‘Disha’ (Driving Industry towards Sustainable Human Capital Advancement) to make India a global benchmark for social compliance in apparel manufacturing and export. This Common Compliance Code project will prepare the Indian apparel industry on a common platform towards a more social and environmentally compliant industrial environment.