Where your biggest risk isn't quality —
it's not knowing who actually made your clothes.

This is the defining risk of Chinese garment sourcing, and it is dramatically underestimated by most buyers.

The factory you visited — with its clean production floor, organised cutting tables, and well-presented factory manager — is often not the factory that makes your order. In the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze Delta garment clusters, it is standard practice to accept orders at 150–200% of actual capacity, then distribute the overflow to a network of smaller workshops.

These workshops operate informally. They pay workers in cash, without formal contracts. They have no quality control procedures. They have no knowledge of your brand's compliance requirements. Workers are frequently paid per piece, creating pressure to cut corners on construction.

The problem is especially acute in fast-fashion and seasonal orders, smaller quantities that factories deprioritise, and factories presenting BSCI or SA8000 certificates — the certification covers the main facility; the workshop is invisible.

• Capacity cross-check

  Confirmed orders in production vs. floor capacity at time of audit. If the numbers don't reconcile, production is going elsewhere.

• Worker interviews

  Conducted independently, without factory management present, covering actual working location and daily production tasks.

• Social security headcount vs. visible workforce

  The official payroll enrollment vs. workers on the floor. Systematic gaps indicate informal workers — and often, external production.

• Cutting room audit

  Raw fabric volumes and cutting schedules cross-referenced against the production plan. Fabric going out means production going out.

• Delivery records

  Inbound finished goods arriving from external locations: who made them, and why?

• Liaison staff identification

  An "external production coordinator" role on the org chart is a direct indicator of managed subcontracting.

The Chinese garment industry has endemic labour compliance issues that create direct exposure for brands selling into markets with supply chain due diligence requirements — the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the UK Modern Slavery Act, and US import restrictions.

The most common failures: overtime beyond the legal 36-hour monthly maximum (80–120 hours is common during peak season); piece-rate wage structures that require illegal hours to meet minimum wage; no written employment contracts for migrant workers; and employer social insurance contributions routinely skipped for informal workers.

These issues are not visible from a management walkthrough. They require worker interviews, payroll record review, and social security cross-checking.

• Social security records

  Enrolled employees vs. visible workforce. The gap reveals the scale of informal employment.

• Payroll record spot-check

  Wage levels tested against minimum wage thresholds and legal overtime limits.

• Employment contract sample review

  Conducted with worker consent, confirming written contracts exist and cover actual terms.

• Worker interviews

  Conducted without factory management, covering working hours, wage receipt, and freedom to leave.

• BSCI / SA8000 / SEDEX certification scope verification

  Certification confirmed to cover the actual production facility — not just the registered office. Last audit date and open non-conformances reviewed.