To support the apparel industry in Southeast Asia, SGS operates a laboratory in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia and also provides garment inspection services in Myanmar.
The Cambodian facility has the capability to perform product regulatory and quality testing like US CPSIA, EU REACH and others, in both physical and chemical testing, inspections and audits.
“This Cambodian laboratory will serve as a one-stop service provider to aid the local and regional apparel industry to access international markets,” a SGS press release informed.
The Myanmar based inspection service was founded in 1948 as the first 3rd party service provider in the country.
“We offer inspection at every stage of the production to assist the apparel industry to highlight defects as early as possible to avoid issues later in the supply chain,” SGS said.
“Our inspection services include initial product checks, during production checks and final random inspections,” the testing company added.
The company also offers social compliance audit service to ensure manufacturers in Myanmar are engaged in lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing.
Backed by its extensive worldwide network of experienced local inspectors and auditors, SGS also performs these services in other countries in the Southeast Asia region.
“We act on behalf of buyers to help reduce sourcing risks for their clients by verifying the capability of manufacturers to meet requirements for agreed quality, quantity, safety and delivery terms,” it explained.
In addition to Cambodia and Myanmar, SGS has a strong footprint spanning many core sourcing countries within Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
“Local apparel manufacturing industry and brand sourcing offices can leverage our footprint to ensure their apparel meets quality standards and applicable export market regulatory requirements,” SGS noted.
Spencer Yeung, vice-president of SGS Global Softlines stated, “International brands and retailers have been making sourcing shift to the emerging locations in Southeast Asia such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia.”
“Furthermore, we also observed that many investors of major manufacturing groups have been setting up factories across this region, fuelling the growth of the apparel industry and the economic as a whole,” he too added.
“Asia will remain a major player for global sourcing and SGS commits itself in this region and continues to support this industry,” he observed.
