What an audit is for in this category
Intimate apparel rewards close process control: elastics that recover, dyes that hold, seams that survive stretch, cups that match their mold. None of that shows in a catalog photo, and all of it shows in the first shipment. An audit is how the desk separates plants that can carry a program from plants that photograph well, and it happens before sampling, not after the first claim. Two lenses are applied every time: the paperwork a market will demand, and the physical capability the spec will exercise.
The desk audits per project rather than handing over a shelf certificate list. A plant audited for basic briefs may not be the right plant for a molded sports bra, and a clean report from two years ago says little about the line running this quarter.
Documents: the paper a market will ask for
The document review comes first because it is cheap and quick, and because a gap here usually predicts gaps on the floor. Four files are requested and read against the program's intended market:
| Document | What it covers | What the desk checks |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 certificate | Quality management system across the plant | Scope covers the actual product lines; certificate in force |
| BSCI or SMETA report | Social compliance and working conditions | Report date within the channel's window; findings and closure |
| OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | Fabric safety, 300-plus harmful substances, yarn to product | Held by the plant per lot; article numbers match the fabrics proposed |
| Test reports | Color fastness, pH, shrinkage per order agreement | Reports trace to the dye lots proposed for the program |
Lissea holds none of these documents in its own name; they belong to the partner plants, and each one is verified per project - read, dated, scope-checked and filed with the program record. Where a certificate has lapsed or a scope does not cover the proposed fabric, the finding goes into the shortlist note rather than being waved through. The market-by-market requirements sit on the compliance page.
Capability: what the floor must show
Documents say a plant has systems; the floor shows whether it has the hands. The walk-through follows the order the garment is built in:
- Cutting: lay planning, marker accuracy, and how lace repeats are matched at the cutting table.
- Sewing: machine mix for elastic attachment, coverstitch and flatlock work, and stitch density checks at the line.
- Molding: cup molding presses, mold inventory, and how cup depth is verified against the size set.
- Bonding: seamless and no-show work, bond strength sampling, and press calibration records.
- Color booth: a standard light booth in actual use, retained swatches on file, and lot comparison against them.
- Finishing and packing: needle detection where metal is used, fold standard, carton marks.
Each stop produces a yes, a no, or a qualified note - and the qualified notes are the useful part, because they say what a program would have to compensate for, such as a plant that molds cups in-house but bonds out, which stretches the calendar on seamless work.
The written checklist
The desk runs a fixed checklist per plant and adds program-specific lines where the spec demands them: a period panty program adds absorbency-layer handling; a children's line adds the CPSIA document trail. The base version covers the areas below.
| Area | Checked item | Evidence filed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal and social | Registration, BSCI or SMETA currency, findings closed | Report copy with dates |
| Quality system | ISO 9001 scope, in-process inspection points, records | Certificate and sample records |
| Materials | OEKO-TEX articles, fabric supplier list, lot traceability | Certificate copies per fabric |
| Process | Cutting, sewing, molding, bonding capability vs the spec | Floor notes with machine counts |
| Color control | Light booth, retained swatches, comparison routine | Booth photo and swatch log |
| Final inspection | AQL sampling agreed per program, defect logging, records | Past inspection reports |
After the audit: the shortlist note
Every audit ends in a written note: what was seen, what was dated, what is missing, and what the plant is fit to carry. Shortlist decisions quote the note, not memory. A plant that fails one program shape often stays on file for another - a plant without in-house molding can still be an excellent brief and boyshort house. The note also sets the re-audit trigger: a new line, a long gap, or a change of ownership all reopen the file. For the checklist in article form, see the factory audit checklist, and for how audits sit inside the sourcing sequence, see sourcing intimates from China.
Book an audit round
Audits are scheduled per project, usually across two or three plants in one cluster trip; the cluster logistics are on the industry clusters page. Bring the program shape - lines, fabrics, market - through the quote form and the desk returns a shortlist with the audit status of each plant attached.