How to prepare for the Due Diligence Questionnaire
If your outsourced manufacturer does not have an accepted third-party social responsibility audit, you may be asked to complete our Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) as part of your Happy Worker assessment.
The questionnaire was developed in line with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains and covers similar worker welfare and human rights considerations to social audits such as SMETA and Amfori BSCI.
Its purpose is to help us understand what due diligence your brand carries out to identify and manage potential risks relating to workers' rights, working conditions, health and safety, excessive overtime and forced labour.
If you are using the Due Diligence Questionnaire as your evidence route, it must be completed for each manufacturer that does not have other accepted Happy Worker evidence.
If you use several manufacturers, each one must be covered by sufficient evidence, whether through an accepted third-party audit, a satisfactory DDQ, or another evidence route applicable to that manufacturer.
What do I need to demonstrate?
Option 1: Established relationship and facility visit
You have:
- worked with the manufacturer for at least one year, and
- visited the manufacturing facility in person.
OR
Option 2: Documented worker welfare checks
You can demonstrate:
- checks or processes used to assess workers' rights, working conditions and health and safety, and
- a supplier-facing Code of Conduct, human rights policy, modern slavery policy or equivalent that is in place with the manufacturer.
Where a policy is being used as evidence, it should be a formal document applicable to the manufacturing facility. Where relevant, it should be acknowledged and signed by the manufacturer and communicated to workers.
How to answer each question:
1. How long have you worked with each facility?
Tell us when you started working with the manufacturer and briefly describe the relationship.
Long-standing supplier relationships can reduce risk because they provide more opportunity to build a relationship with the facility and identify potential problems.
A strong answer could include:
We have worked with this manufacturer since 2022. We communicate directly with the production manager throughout each production run and review manufacturing requirements before orders are placed.
Please provide an approximate start date if you cannot remember the exact date. Avoid leaving the question blank.
2. Have you visited each facility?
Tell us whether someone from your brand has physically visited the manufacturing facility.
If yes, please provide:
- approximately when the most recent visit took place
- who visited
- what areas of the facility were seen
- whether working conditions, health and safety or worker welfare were discussed or reviewed
In-person visits provide greater visibility of working conditions than digital communication or virtual tours alone.
If you have not visited the facility, please answer honestly. Not having visited does not automatically mean your Happy Worker application will be unsuccessful. We will consider the other due diligence measures you have in place.
3. Do you or your manufacturer have a Code of Conduct, Modern Slavery Statement, Human Rights Policy or equivalent?
Tell us about any formal policies used to establish expectations around worker welfare and human rights.
Examples may include:
- Supplier Code of Conduct
- Human Rights Policy
- Ethical Sourcing Policy
- Modern Slavery Policy
- manufacturer worker welfare policy
Where possible, upload the document to your submission.
A supplier Code of Conduct should apply to the manufacturer or supplier, rather than being an internal employee handbook for your own business.
It should cover relevant worker protections such as fair treatment, wages and working hours, freedom from forced and child labour, health and safety, and freedom from discrimination.
Collaboration with manufacturers is important. Policies should not simply exist on paper, so please also tell us how expectations are communicated to the manufacturer and, where known, to workers.
Additional questions for manufacturers in higher-risk countries
Brands manufacturing in countries identified as higher risk for modern slavery or labour rights concerns will be asked additional questions.
This does not mean that a manufacturer has failed our requirements. It means that we require greater evidence of the due diligence carried out by the brand.
4. What checks did you carry out when choosing the facility regarding workers' rights and health and safety?
Explain what you did before, or since, appointing the manufacturer to understand working conditions.
Examples could include:
- discussing working conditions directly with management
- reviewing health and safety procedures
- checking fire and emergency procedures
- reviewing worker contracts or welfare policies
- reviewing social responsibility or health and safety certifications
- inspecting the facility during a visit
- requesting photographs or video of the production facility
- asking the manufacturer how wages and working hours are managed
- reviewing previous audit findings and corrective actions
For smaller facilities where formal certifications may not be available, explain what practical checks are carried out by management to protect workers.
Certificates such as ISO 45001 can be mentioned as supporting health and safety information, but they are not themselves accepted as a social responsibility audit for the Happy Worker guarantee.
5. Are you aware of the facility's manufacturing capacity and what happens if too much work is undertaken?
This question helps us assess the risk of excessive overtime, unauthorised subcontracting and forced labour.
Please explain how your manufacturer manages busy periods and what happens if an order exceeds their available production capacity.
Useful information could include:
- normal working hours and overtime arrangements
- whether overtime is voluntary
- how production capacity is calculated
- whether additional workers are hired during busy periods
- whether production is ever subcontracted
- whether your approval is required before subcontracting
- what happens when an order cannot be completed within normal working hours
For example:
The manufacturer provides us with production lead times before an order is confirmed. If capacity is unavailable, our delivery date is extended rather than requiring excessive overtime. Production cannot be subcontracted without our prior approval.
Please provide as much information as you reasonably can.
You can find more information about how we assess Happy Worker here
FAQs:
Do I need a social audit to attain Happy Worker?
Not necessarily. You do not need to have a SMETA, Amfori BSCI, SA8000, WRAP, Fair Trade or RJC audit in every case.
If an accepted social audit is not available, a satisfactory Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) can provide an alternative route to approval.
Your answers should demonstrate that your brand has actively considered worker welfare and understands the conditions within its manufacturing supply chain. Simply stating that you trust your supplier, have had no complaints, or have been told that working conditions are good would not usually be sufficient on its own.
What makes a strong DDQ submission?
The strongest answers are specific and evidence-based.
Rather than writing:
Our manufacturer treats workers well.
A stronger answer would be:
We have worked with the manufacturer since 2021 and visited the facility in May 2025. During our visit we reviewed the production areas, emergency exits and working environment. Our Supplier Code of Conduct covers wages, working hours, child labour, forced labour and health and safety and has been signed by the manufacturer.
Your answers do not need to be lengthy. We simply need enough information to understand what checks you carry out, what you know about the facility and how you would respond if an issue was identified.
What if I do not know the answer to a question?
Please contact your manufacturer and ask them for the relevant information before submitting your questionnaire.
Approximate information is acceptable where exact information is genuinely unavailable, but questions should not be left blank.
If we do not have enough information to complete the assessment, we may ask you to provide further evidence or clarification.
Do I need to provide evidence for every manufacturer?
Yes. Happy Worker applies across your manufacturing supply chain, so each manufacturer producing your collection must be covered by sufficient evidence.
This does not mean every manufacturer must complete a DDQ. Depending on the manufacturer, acceptable evidence may include an approved third-party social audit, a satisfactory DDQ, or another applicable evidence route.
If you use multiple manufacturers, we assess the evidence for each facility individually, so your overall Happy Worker assessment depends on sufficient evidence being available for all relevant manufacturers.