Sedex / SMETA Audit

Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) is a non-profit founded in 2004 in London that runs a cloud-based platform for ethical supply-chain data. More than 85,000 member companies from retail, manufacturing and supply use Sedex — primarily in food retail but increasingly in textiles and consumer goods.

The core is SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit), a standardised audit format that assesses a supplier factory either in a two-pillar version (labour + health/safety) or as a full four-pillar audit (additionally environment + business ethics). It is based on the ETI Base Code and local laws. Audits are carried out by accredited bodies such as Bureau Veritas, SGS, Intertek and TÜV Rheinland and results are uploaded to the Sedex platform where customers with factory access can review them. SMETA is not a certificate but a snapshot — non-conformities must be resolved through a Corrective Action Plan (CAPAR). Because SMETA is internationally accepted, many brands recognise it as an alternative to BSCI or in-house audits.