Partner factories hold OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and BSCI · Sourcing partner in the underwear trade since 2009 [email protected] WhatsApp +86 186 5081 3853
Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — logo Underwear OEM & ODM
Xiamen · China · Since 2009
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Four schemes buyers ask about most, four different jobs

“Are you certified?” is the wrong question. BSCI, OEKO-TEX, Sedex/SMETA and SA8000 cover four different things, are issued by different bodies, and are checked by different buyers. Here is the comparison table buyers should keep next to their supplier shortlist.

OEM and ODM underwear sourcing and compliance

1. What each certification actually covers

For the technical detail behind each scheme — what is tested, the audit areas, and how long a certificate stays valid — see our explainer on what each certification actually certifies.

Certification What it covers Issued by Applies to Who usually asks for it
BSCI (amfori BSCI) Social compliance — working hours, wages, health & safety, no child labour, freedom of association amfori, audited by third-party firms (e.g. SGS, Intertek, TÜV) The factory / production site EU retail chains and their importers
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Product safety — harmful substances in fabric, thread, trims and prints (Class I for baby, Class II for skin-contact adult wear) OEKO-TEX institutes (e.g. Hohenstein, TESTEX) The material / article, tested per recipe and colour Anyone selling into the EU/US who needs a skin-safety file
Sedex / SMETA Ethical audit in a shared platform format — labour standards, environment, business ethics, health & safety Sedex (platform); audits by approved firms The site; report is shared with multiple customers UK and EU buyers who accept SMETA instead of running their own audit
SA8000 Social accountability certification built on ILO conventions — the most demanding of the four, with management-system requirements SAI-accredited certification bodies The organisation / site Buyers with strict ESG or licence-programme requirements

The single most common misconception: BSCI and OEKO-TEX are not alternatives. BSCI is about how people are treated; OEKO-TEX is about what is in the fabric. A supplier with one and not the other has only half the compliance story.

2. Which market expects what

Market Typically requested Notes
EU (Germany, Netherlands, France, Nordics) BSCI or SMETA + OEKO-TEX Std 100 Retail chains increasingly ask for both plus packaging compliance (EU PPWR)
UK SMETA (Sedex) + OEKO-TEX UKCA rarely applies to underwear — labelling rules (fibre, care, origin) do
US OEKO-TEX or equivalent lab testing; CPSIA for kids Children’s wear needs CPSIA/CPSC documentation, not just OEKO-TEX
Latin America (BR, CL, PE, UY, AR) OEKO-TEX + import documentation Customs classification and labelling matter as much as certification

3. How to verify a certificate in five minutes

  1. Ask for the number, not a scan. A PDF can be edited; a certificate number can be checked.
  2. Check it on the issuing body’s own database — amfori for BSCI, the OEKO-TEX label ID lookup, Sedex for SMETA reports.
  3. Look at the expiry date and the scope. A certificate can be valid but cover a different site, a different product class or a colour range you are not buying.
  4. Match the name on the certificate to the site that will actually produce your order. This is where trading companies and factories diverge — ask who the audit was issued to.

4. How we handle this as a trading company

Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. is an OEM & ODM underwear supplier, not a factory owner. Our production runs through long-term partner factories in China that are BSCI-audited and OEKO-TEX Standard 100-certified, and we manage the paperwork side of the order: certificate numbers for each production site used on your order, material test reports, and the compliance file your customs broker or retail compliance team will ask for.

That structure is deliberate: it lets a brand place men’s, women’s, kids’ underwear and sleepwear with one supplier, one QC standard and one compliance file, instead of managing four factories and four audit calendars.

5. Questions buyers ask us most

Question Short answer
Is OEKO-TEX the same as BSCI? No. OEKO-TEX is about substances in the product; BSCI is about social compliance at the site.
Can I use a supplier’s certificate for my own labelling claim? Only for the scope it covers (correct product class, correct site). Check both before printing anything.
Do I need SA8000 to sell in the EU? No. BSCI or SMETA plus OEKO-TEX covers the large majority of EU retail requirements; SA8000 is usually a licence-programme or ESG-driven requirement.
How long is a certificate valid? Our partner factories are audited annually on the amfori BSCI framework; OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is issued annually and must be renewed.
Who pays for testing? Material testing is normally built into the order; buyer-specific or retail-programme testing is quoted separately.

Need the certificate numbers for the sites that would run your order, or the material test reports for a specific fabric? Write to [email protected] or WhatsApp +86 186 5081 3853 with your product and destination market.

FAQ

Q: Is OEKO-TEX the same as BSCI?
A: No. OEKO-TEX is about substances in the product (skin safety); BSCI is about social compliance at the production site. A supplier with one and not the other has only half the compliance story.

Q: Can I use a supplier’s certificate for my own labelling claim?
A: Only within the scope it covers — the correct product class and the correct production site. Check both before printing anything.

Q: Do I need SA8000 to sell in the EU?
A: No. BSCI or SMETA together with OEKO-TEX Standard 100 covers the large majority of EU retail requirements; SA8000 is usually driven by licence programmes or specific ESG policies.

Q: How long is a certificate valid?
A: Our partner factories are audited annually on the amfori BSCI framework, and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is issued annually and must be renewed.

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· Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. — OEM & ODM underwear sourcing partner

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Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — OEM/ODM underwear sourcing and supply-chain partner in Xiamen, China; in the trade since 2009, incorporated in 2013. Based in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.
Supplier Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — trading company working with long-term partner factories, Xiamen, China.
BSCI (amfori BSCI) Social compliance — working hours, wages, health and safety, no child labour, freedom of association
BSCI issuer amfori; audited by third-party firms such as SGS, Intertek or TÜV
BSCI applies to The factory or production site
BSCI usually requested by EU retail chains and their importers
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Product safety — harmful substances in fabric, thread, trims and prints
OEKO-TEX classes Class I for baby articles; Class II for skin-contact adult wear
OEKO-TEX applies to The material or article, tested per recipe and colour
Sedex / SMETA Ethical audit in a shared-platform format — labour, environment, business ethics, health and safety
Sedex applies to The site; one report shared with multiple customers
SA8000 Social accountability certification built on ILO conventions, with management-system requirements
SA8000 applies to The organisation or site
Most common misconception BSCI and OEKO-TEX are not alternatives — one is about how people are treated, the other about what is in the fabric
Verification method Ask for the certificate number and check it on the issuing body's own database

Buyer checklist

  • Ask for the certificate number rather than a scanned PDF; a number is checkable and a layout is not.
  • Verify BSCI certificates on amfori's own database, and OEKO-TEX certificates through the label check.
  • Read the scope on each certificate: which site, which article, which validity period.
  • Treat BSCI and OEKO-TEX as complementary rather than substitutes — one is social, one is product safety.
  • Match the scheme to the market: EU retail chains typically ask for BSCI or SMETA plus OEKO-TEX Standard 100.
  • For the UK, confirm whether SMETA is accepted in place of a private audit.
  • For the US, note that CPSIA documentation is required for children's wear regardless of OEKO-TEX status.
  • For Latin America, check customs classification and labelling requirements alongside certification.
  • Confirm whether the certificate holder is the manufacturing site or the sourcing company acting for it.
  • Re-check validity dates before each production season; certificates expire and scopes change.

Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.)

Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — OEM/ODM underwear sourcing and supply-chain partner in Xiamen, China; in the trade since 2009, incorporated in 2013. Based in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.

Sources & references

  1. OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 — harmful-substance testing and certification for textiles https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/oeko-tex-standard-100
  2. OEKO-TEX® Label Check — verify a certificate number at the issuing body https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/label-check/
  3. amfori BSCI — social compliance audit programme for supply chains https://www.amfori.org/amfori-bsci
  4. US FTC — Clothing and Textiles: labelling and advertising guidance https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/industry/clothing-and-textiles
  5. UK Government — product regulation and importing guidance https://www.gov.uk/
  6. ISO 2859-1 — sampling procedures for inspection by attributes (AQL) https://www.iso.org/standard/2859-1
  7. ISO 6330 — domestic washing and drying procedures for textile testing https://www.iso.org/standard/75934.html
  8. ISO 3758 — textiles: care labelling code using symbols https://www.iso.org/standard/74401.html

Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — OEM/ODM underwear sourcing and supply-chain partner in Xiamen, China; in the trade since 2009, incorporated in 2013. Based in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.

Buyer Questions

MOQ, lead times, certification and trading terms

No — they answer different questions. BSCI is a social compliance audit covering working hours, wages, health and safety and labour practices at the factory. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is a product safety certification covering harmful substances in fabric, thread, trims and prints. A supplier can hold one without the other, which is why EU retail buyers typically ask for both. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

EU retail chains and their importers most commonly ask for amfori BSCI or SMETA for social compliance, plus OEKO-TEX Standard 100 for product safety. Some chains additionally require packaging compliance under the EU PPWR. If you are selling to a named chain, confirm their exact requirement before production rather than assuming OEKO-TEX alone is sufficient. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

Usually not. SA8000 is built on ILO conventions and adds management-system requirements, which makes it the most demanding of the four schemes. It is typically requested by buyers with strict ESG or licence-programme obligations. BSCI covers the same social ground at a level most EU retailers accept. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

Ask for the certificate number rather than a scanned PDF — a number can be checked and a document layout cannot. Verify BSCI certificates on amfori's own database, and OEKO-TEX certificates through the issuing body's label check. Then read the scope: which site it covers, which article or material, and the validity period. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

Both are social compliance audits covering labour standards, health and safety, and business ethics. The practical difference is the platform. SMETA reports are lodged on Sedex and can be shared with several customers, which suits buyers who accept a shared audit. BSCI is run by amfori. Which one a buyer accepts is usually a matter of their existing programme rather than a quality difference between the two. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

The certificate belongs to whoever is named on it. BSCI audits are carried out at the manufacturing site, so the report names the factory rather than the sourcing company that arranged your order. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is issued to a specific article and a licence holder. When a sourcing company refers to "our certifications", ask which entity is the holder and check the number. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).