Traceability, Site Approval, and Supply Chain Visibility
Unauthorized Subcontracting
Production moved to a non-disclosed or non-approved facility outside the brand's authorized supplier chain.
Definition
Unauthorized subcontracting means work is happening somewhere the buyer did not approve or may not even know about. That could include overflow production at another site, a hidden processing unit, or a subcontractor outside the allowed facility chain.
The issue is serious because the controls the buyer thought were in place, such as audits, approvals, or country restrictions, may not apply at the real production site.
How this source informs this section
Disney International Labor Standards Program Manual · p. 8
Disney's ILS manual is directly relevant because it treats production disclosure and authorization as explicit operating requirements.
Why it matters
When production moves outside the approved chain, a company can lose visibility very quickly. The original site's good score may tell you little about the actual place making the product.
It also matters because unauthorized subcontracting often points to deeper commercial or planning pressure that the supplier did not disclose honestly.
How this source informs this section
Nike Code Leadership Standards 2025
Nike's standards are useful as a comparative example of why undisclosed production weakens supplier oversight and control credibility.
Nuance
Not every production shift is abusive, but every undisclosed shift is a control failure. The key questions are whether the move was approved, documented, and still inside the buyer's risk boundaries.
Teams should read this together with approved-factory control, permitted-country rules, and traceability depth rather than as a single factory issue.
How this source informs this section
Disney International Labor Standards Program Manual · p. 37
The manual supports distinguishing between an approved production change and a hidden shift outside the authorized chain.
Sources
Disney International Labor Standards Program Manual
Disney · program manual PDF
Disney's main labor-standards manual for facility authorization, audit expectations, remediation, and unauthorized production controls.
Nike Code Leadership Standards 2025
Nike · standards PDF
Nike supplier standards used here as an example of detailed supplier controls around authorized production and oversight expectations.
