Factory Audit in Pakistan: The Supplier Checklist Buyers Should Require

Key Takeaways

• A factory audit evaluates the supplier's systems, records and working conditions, and it examines capability rather than a specific lot.

• Social audits and quality audits answer different questions, so a programme that buys only one of them leaves half the risk uncovered.

• SMETA and BSCI dominate the schemes European buyers request from Pakistani suppliers, but an audit is evidence rather than a verdict.

• Audit findings in Pakistan cluster around subcontracting disclosure, wage and hours records, and chain-of-custody gaps.

• Re-audit intervals should follow the supplier's risk profile rather than the calendar, with the compliance dates that apply in the buyer's own market layered on top.

What a factory audit actually examines

A factory audit assesses a production unit against a standard, and the standard decides the scope. Quality-management audits examine process control, inspection regimes, calibration, traceability and corrective-action discipline, social and ethical audits examine working conditions, wages, hours, freedom of association, child-labour controls and health and safety, and environmental audits examine wastewater, emissions, chemical handling and waste.

Buyers sourcing from Pakistan usually need more than one. OneSilq's Pakistan audit guidance notes that common quality findings persist even in well-regarded facilities, which is the signal that a satisfactory social audit does not predict process control.

A social audit samples records and interviews workers, and a quality audit samples process evidence and production data, so neither produces the other's conclusion and a supplier with a clean social file can still ship dimensional deviations at scale. A complete programme layers both.

SMETA and BSCI: what Pakistani suppliers actually hold

European buyers most often ask Pakistani suppliers for a Sedex SMETA audit or an amfori BSCI audit. Both are social-audit frameworks built on ILO conventions and local labour law, and each produces a report a buyer can review on a platform rather than a pass certificate.

The distinction that matters commercially is not which scheme is stricter, but what each gives the buyer. SMETA shares findings, corrective actions and closure evidence through the Sedex platform, while BSCI operates through amfori's platform with a grading structure. Both are evidence formats. Neither certifies permanent compliance. Each is also blind to the sub-contractor tier.

One commercial point: an audit report is a snapshot with a date on it, recording what an auditor found during a defined attendance. Treating a 2024 report as current evidence in 2027 is a documentation error, not an audit failure.

Where Pakistan's audit findings cluster

Findings in Pakistan repeat across sectors, which is what makes them plannable.

Undisclosed subcontracting. Peak-season volume routed to units that never appear on the supplier list breaks traceability at a stroke, because the buyer's file describes a factory the goods never entered.

Wage and hours record gaps. Ecotextile News reporting on Pakistani garment wage audits covers research across 255 workers in eight export factories that found wage violations and audits criticised for excluding worker testimony. The finding pattern is consistent: records that reconcile on paper and not against payment evidence.

Wider labour exposure. The Arisa report on Pakistani garment workers documents wage theft, excessive hours and caste discrimination, with forced labour concerns reaching cotton. Amazon faced an OECD complaint in November 2025 over due diligence on marketplace seller supply chains, and the case reaches Pakistani factories, which shows how far down a chain a buyer's obligation can travel.

Sector-specific listing. The US Department of Labor's Pakistan reporting lists garments, textiles, leather and surgical instruments among the goods produced with child labour in Pakistan, and the Ethical Trading Initiative documents severe labour exploitation in the Sialkot surgical cluster.

Chain-of-custody breaks. Fibre and leather whose trail ends at a trader are the findings that most often survive remediation, because the missing records belong to a party who is not the supplier.

The checklist to put in a purchase agreement

An audit checklist is only enforceable if it appears in the commercial documents, so put the following in the purchase agreement rather than in an email thread.

1. Named production sites, with a requirement to disclose any change before production starts.

2. Current audit report against a named scheme, with the report date and the platform reference.

3. Corrective-action plan for every open finding, with an owner and a closure date.

4. Written employment terms for every worker, in a language each worker reads.

5. Wage and hours registers that reconcile to payment evidence, available for inspection.

6. Chain-of-custody records to gin, tannery or spinner level for each input material.

7. Chemical inventory and restricted-substance declaration covering inputs in use.

8. Environmental permits current for the site's actual operations.

9. A functioning grievance channel with a named contact independent of line management.

10. Consent for unannounced follow-up audits, stated as a condition rather than a courtesy.

Point ten is the one that changes behaviour. A programme that can only attend when invited is a programme that reviews arrangements rather than conditions.

How often to re-audit

Cadence should follow risk rather than the calendar, with two external clocks layered on top.

The external clocks are regulatory. The EU Forced Labour Regulation applies from 14 December 2027 and its obligations run to results rather than documentation, while the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive applies to the largest EU companies from 26 July 2029. Pakistani suppliers will meet that directive as contractual and questionnaire requirements rather than as direct obligations.

Audit evidence now serves two audiences. The buyer reads it to decide whether to place an order, and the buyer's compliance function reads it to evidence due diligence. A file refreshed annually serves both better than one refreshed when a problem appears.

What a supplier should prepare before the auditor arrives

Preparation is not concealment. Audits go badly when documentation exists but cannot be produced.

Have ready a site map showing production, storage and welfare areas, the current worker roster reconciled to contracts, and wage and hours registers for the last twelve months. Prepare the subcontractor list with declared units, input material records with chain-of-custody evidence, chemical inventory and safety data sheets, environmental permits and monitoring reports, and the last external audit report with corrective-action closure evidence and grievance records with outcomes.

One point deserves emphasis. Worker interviews are where a well-prepared file and a working system diverge. Records can be assembled; testimony cannot.

How TTI supports supplier programmes

• Factory and supplier audits run through Tti Inspections Pvt Ltd, accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 under PNAC certificate IB-006 and listed on the PNAC register.

• A compliance portfolio spanning SA8000, SMETA, GOTS, OEKO-TEX, ISO 14064 and Higg FEM support.

• Scheme choice follows what the buyer already uses. Certification support covers ZDHC MRSL conformance and CE or UKCA marking.

• Environmental audit capability through the Sustainability Center, including wastewater, emissions and chemical management.

• Laboratory backing under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, PNAC LAB-022, where findings need analytical confirmation.

• Coverage from Lahore headquarters with offices in Karachi, Faisalabad and Sialkot and liaison points in Multan and Kasur.

• Findings documented with dated evidence and followed to closure, so a corrective-action plan has a record behind it.

One boundary, stated once. TTI does not certify social compliance on a supplier's behalf. Audit schemes issue their own conclusions, and TTI reports what the audit found.

FAQ

What does a factory audit in Pakistan cover? Scope follows the standard. Quality audits cover process control, inspection and traceability, while social audits cover wages, hours, contracts, child labour, health and safety and freedom of association, and environmental audits cover wastewater, emissions and chemical handling. Most buyers need more than one type. A full programme adds chemical management, effluent data and sub-contractor disclosure.

SMETA versus BSCI, which do Pakistani suppliers hold? Both are common. SMETA shares findings through the Sedex platform and BSCI through amfori. Neither certifies permanent compliance. The useful comparison is which platform the buyer already uses, because the report has to be readable by the buyer's own compliance function.

How often should suppliers be re-audited? Every 12 to 24 months for stable suppliers, more frequently for new suppliers, suppliers with open findings, and suppliers with high subcontracting exposure. Sectors listed in the US Department of Labor reporting warrant annual review or better.

What fails audits most in Pakistan? Undisclosed subcontracting. Wage and hours records that do not reconcile to payment evidence. Excessive overtime in peak season. Chain-of-custody records that stop at a trader. Grievance channels that exist on paper without worker awareness.

Conclusion

• A factory audit examines capability, which is why it catches risks no shipment check can.

• Social, quality and environmental audits answer separate questions, and Pakistani suppliers are usually assessed against more than one standard.

• Findings cluster predictably, which means they can be designed out at contract stage rather than discovered at audit stage.

• Cadence follows risk, with regulatory dates layered on top.

Book a factory audit with Tti Inspections Pvt Ltd. UAN 111 786 001. ISO/IEC 17020 accredited supplier audits, findings closed with evidence.

References

1. Factory audit in Pakistan, OneSilq, https://www.onesilq.com/blog/factory-audit-in-pakistan

2. Pakistan garment worker wage audits under fire, Ecotextile News, July 2026, https://www.ecotextile.com/2026072364340/news/social-compliance-and-csr/pakistan-garment-worker-wage-audits-under-fire

3. Arisa report on wage theft and working hours in Pakistan's garment sector, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, July 2025, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/pakistan-arisa-report-finds-widespread-wage-theft-excessive-working-hours-harsh-conditions-for-garment-workers-supplying-major-global-brands-incl-cos-responses/

4. Amazon faces OECD complaint on due diligence in Pakistan, Ecotextile News, November 2025, https://www.ecotextile.com/2025112560871/news/social-compliance-and-csr/amazon-faces-oecd-complaint-on-due-diligence-in-pakistan/

5. Child labor and forced labor reports: Pakistan, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/pakistan

6. Labour standards in Pakistan's surgical instruments sector, Ethical Trading Initiative, https://www.ethicaltrade.org/resources/guidance-and-reports/labour-standards-pakistans-surgical-instruments-sector

7. Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 on prohibiting products made with forced labour, EUR-Lex, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/3015/oj/eng

8. Corporate sustainability due diligence, European Commission, https://commission.europa.eu/topics/business-and-industry/company-law-and-corporate-governance/corporate-sustainability-due-diligence_en

9. Inspection services, TTI Testing Laboratories, https://ttilabs.net/inspection

10. Certification services, TTI Testing Laboratories, https://ttilabs.net/certification

11. Sustainability services, TTI Testing Laboratories, https://ttilabs.net/sustainability/

12. Active inspection bodies register, Pakistan National Accreditation Council, https://www.pnac.gov.pk/index.php/Accredited-Cabs-serve/Inspection-Bodies/Active

13. Accreditation scope LAB-022 (ISO/IEC 17025:2017, first granted 13 May 2006, valid to 8 August 2027), Pakistan National Accreditation Council, https://pnac.gov.pk/pdfFiles/LAB-022

14. Chapter 4 End-to-End Assurance (compliance portfolio spanning SA8000, SMETA, GOTS, OEKO-TEX, ISO 14064 and Higg FEM support; certification limited to ZDHC MRSL conformance and CE or UKCA facilitation), TTI Global Reference Publication, June 2026, Authoritative Edition, TTI Testing Laboratories. The publication is an internal TTI document with no public URL.