Social Compliance Audit

In China, Vietnam and India

A Social Audit (SA), also known as a Social Compliance or Corporate Social Responsibility Audit, evaluates a supplier’s adherence to international human rights standards and national laws. QC China’s social audits provide insight into potential ethical compliance risks within your supply chain, including labor practices, safety, and social responsibility.

QC China is a member of the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) and serves as an Affiliate Audit Company with Sedex, ensuring reliable assessments of social performance standards.

When is a suitable time to conduct a Social Compliance Audit?

When starting new partnerships with suppliers, QC China’s Social Audit can conduct a comprehensive assessment of the factory’s latest social performance, ensuring alignment with your ethical standards. We also offer annual follow-up audits to maintain compliance and strengthen your cooperation over time.

What criteria are covered in a Social Compliance Audit?

QC China Social Audit can cover the following aspects:

What is the cost of a Social Compliance Audit?

Our standard all-inclusive Social Audit cost is 498 USD/man-day (no hidden fees) in any major manufacturing clusters in China, Vietnam and India.

Values included:

FAQ's on Social Audit

With growing expectations for transparency and sustainability, brands and retailers increasingly require suppliers to meet ethical standards throughout their supply chains. Ethical compliance issues directly impact purchasing decisions, as companies seek reliable, responsible partners. QC China’s Social Audit identifies potential compliance risks in your factory and offers an actionable plan for improvement, helping you align with these expectations.

Although we can sometimes accommodate next-day audits in key manufacturing hubs where QC China has a large team of full-time auditors, we recommend booking at least three days in advance. This advance notice helps ensure optimal scheduling and allows for thorough preparation before the audit.

At QC China, a dedicated account manager will serve as your main contact, providing timely responses to any inquiries about your Social Audit arrangements.

QC China can arrange both scheduled and unannounced audits. For scheduled audits, your assigned account manager will confirm the audit date with the factory beforehand. Notifying the factory in advance about QC China’s audit services will help facilitate a smoother scheduling process.


Certainly! QC China auditors evaluate factory performance through either of the following audits:

  • Code of Conduct (CoC) Audit: QC China conducts independent, objective CoC audits based on local laws, international standards, or client-specific requirements.
  • SEDEX Member’s Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA): SMETA audits assess factories based on the ETI Base Code, examining factors like human rights adherence, responsible recruitment, and effective management systems.

The official report, reviewed and signed by an authorized QC China technical manager, will be available within three days of each audit. If needed, a same-day Corrective Action Plan (CAP) report can be provided to summarize key audit findings immediately. QC China has one of the highest rates of same-day report availability in the inspection industry.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us whenever you have any questions. The QC China team is always available even after the audit is completed.

Besides Social Audit, QC China also provides other services like pre-shipment inspection, during production inspection, container loading supervision, production monitoring, factory audit, credit audit, laboratory testing, product certification, etc.

Talk to Our Team

Contact us today to discuss your quality control requirements and how Quality Control China can help you ensure the quality of your products in Asia.