The Audit of Ethical Trade of Sedex Members (SMETA – Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) is one of the most used ethical audit formats in the world.

Sedex / SMETA Audit

SMETA is an audit procedure that is a compilation of good practices in the ethics audit technique. It is not a code of conduct, a new methodology or a certification process.

SMETA is designed to reduce duplication of efforts in the ethical trade audit, which benefits retailers, consumer brands and their suppliers. When using SMETA, a supplier can submit to an audit and share it with multiple clients, instead of performing a different audit for each client.

SMETA documents are designed to be used by experienced auditors in accordance with current established practices.

The SMETA methodology uses the code of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and local legislation as a measurement tool. It includes four modules:

  • Health and security
  • Work standards
  • Environment (optional)
  • Business ethics (optional)