Suppliers using the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) continue to report saving time and money, and gaining more clarity on improvements, according to Cascale Better Buying’s Win-Win Sustainable Partnership Report.
Released today, the report surveys suppliers on buying practices, including how widely brands accept SLCP assessments and what benefits suppliers see from using SLCP. Acceptance of SLCP remains relatively steady at 39.6 per cent, and suppliers report:
75.8 per cent gained more clarity on corrective actions
60.1 per cent reduced staff time spent on auditing
46.2 per cent saved money on auditing expenses
However, for the first time in five years, the findings also show that brands are less likely to accept existing audits.
Suppliers report that in 10 percent of cases, buyers did not accept any existing audit and required their own proprietary audit, an increase compared to the previous year. This leads to audit duplication, taking time and resources away from improvements on the factory floor.
Quote attributed to SLCP CEO Janet Mensink:
“We are proud that acceptance of SLCP remains steady, and that so many manufacturers continue to see real value in using SLCP. These results show what convergence can achieve. Brands play a central role in reducing the time and money lost to duplicative audits by accepting SLCP.
“While the share of buyers not accepting existing audits is small, at around 10 percent, it directly affects a facility’s ability to focus on meaningful improvements on the factory floor. Using existing information instead of demanding duplicate data is a principle now written into EU law through the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. That makes the growing reluctance to accept existing audits all the more concerning. We call on all brands to accept SLCP data in place of their own proprietary audits, and to join us in making convergence the norm, while focusing on investments in working conditions.”
Quote attributed to Katie Hess, Head of Product, Cascale Better Buying:
“Audit harmonization is about more than reducing the burden on suppliers. It’s about making responsible purchasing practices work better for the people and businesses across global supply chains. The 2026 findings show that when buyers accept SLCP’s Converged Assessment Framework, suppliers report greater clarity on corrective actions, less time spent on audits, and savings that can be redirected toward workplace improvements, worker programs, and new technology. These findings reinforce the value of collaboration and standardized assessments in building stronger, more sustainable buyer-supplier partnerships.”
Quote attributed to Michael Cai, Décor:
“The Better Buying results provide an accurate and clear reflection of today’s mixed landscape. On one hand, manufacturers and brands that actively participate in data-sharing initiatives like SLCP are experiencing genuine benefits and savings. On the other hand, if we look at the broader industry convergence, the progress is slower. Real, tangible improvements to workplace conditions are delayed when manufacturers are asked to allocate time, money, and personnel to completing redundant audits for each individual buyer. Data-sharing initiatives like SLCP prove there is a better way, but audit fatigue will persist until buyers stop asking for duplicative audits and start accepting shared data.”
Today SLCP is convening 100 representatives from its Signatory base for a celebration of 10-years of SLCP, hosted in in Istanbul, Türkiye. We hope to bring more stakeholders on board as we head into the next decade of SLCP. The more brands accepting SLCP data, the more widely facilities can share a single assessment. Join our list of companies and organizations accepting SLCP data and help scale our impact into the next decade.
