Ongoing Monitoring

We strive to inspect all approved garment factories at least once in a 12-month period. In 2005, VCOs conducted approximately 4,438 inspections in 2,118 factories around the world, reaching 98.7 percent of the garment factories approved for all of fiscal year 2005.

VCOs assess factory working conditions and documentation based on the standards outlined in our Code of Vendor Conduct. When we find problems, we try to work with management to resolve them as quickly as possible. We will continue to place orders with a factory as long as we believe it is committed to making ongoing improvements. 

Any violation of our Code of Vendor Conduct concerns us, but we pay particular attention to those that we believe to be critical violations, such as forced or child labor. We also note when violations occur frequently, such as in the area of health and safety, or if we see a pattern developing over time. In 2005, we terminated business with 62 factories for compliance violations, or about 2.9 percent of our approved base.

Learn more about our 2005 monitoring results.

•	The Art of Factory Monitoring
•	Making Sense of Data
•	Violations of Our Standards
•	Inspection Data